Wildfires of Spring
by KitKat71483
Summary: Crossover challenge accepted. Main pairing is Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds & Jethro Gibbs from NCIS. (be merciful, they are both strong characters, LOL) It will be short story, multi-chapter set in the past. Hope I do them all justice. Romance/Friendship orientated story. Other possible pairing may occur. WIP. Thanks to FB friends for help on naval info. All errors are mine.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N:_** Set up a little here. Time period wise, this falls after Criminal Minds "…A Thousand Words" (5/5/10) where SSA Agent David Rossi first calls Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia 'kitten' and after Criminal Minds "Exit Wounds" (5/12/10) Alaskan trip where Penelope Garcia sees her first victim die before her eyes and not through her computer screens. Time period wise for NCIS would before Forensic Specialist Abby Sciuto goes down to Mexico to teach the forensics class that leads to finding out about Special Agent Jethro Gibbs past in "Obsession" (5/4/10) and before "Borderland" (5/11/10).

I'm playing a little loose with the time periods here as I'm placing this in before Obsession and before Abby leaves for Mexico on NCIS and after Exit Wounds for Garcia on Criminal Minds.

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"You have reached the office of the Supreme Ruler of all things Bright and Beautiful, what new awesomeness do you need from me today?" Penelope quickly responded to her line.

"Red?" the voice came from her speaker, brisk and questioning.

"Yes?" pausing in her motions, she focused on her open line. She knew that voice, but it had been a while since she had heard from him.

"You don't sound happy to hear from me. Has it been that long?" The slight smile in the voice could be easily heard by her and she leaned back in her chair, twirling a ringlet of hair around her finger as she listened.

"Ah, my sexy Silver Ace, it has been that long." Penelope shook her head, catching glimpses of her red hair shaking about her head as she did. "Not that I'm not glad to hear from you, Jethro, but, you know, you only call me on holidays. Though, you could always call more, if you wanted, cause you have one of those voices. Jethro, just once, could you say that line from that Presidio movie? I swear you sound just like him, and it would sound so sexy, - "

"Red." His somberness called a halt to her ramble as surely as if he was in the very room with her. "I need to ask a favor."

"Jethro, there's no favors between us." Penelope straightened back in her seat. Leroy Jethro Gibbs did not ask for help lightly.

"I need you, Red."

A shiver ran up her spine at those words in spoken in his voice. "Oh, honeycakes, if all you needed was me, all you had to do was call." Taking a breath, she continued, knowing her daydreams weren't a true reflection of why he had called. Too much time had passed for that to be the reason he was calling her up. "Jethro, what do you need? I'll help you any way I can, you know that."

"How good is your team? Are they as good as you say they are?" The questions were quietly given. There was a pause and Gibbs' voice got deeper with his next question, "Are they as good as you are?"

Penelope's concern increased. Jethro did not call FBI for help. If he was going to call anyone here, he would have called Fornell first. "What's going on, Jethro?"

"Why don't you come visit, Red?"

Closing her eyes tightly, she shivered again. Damn marines. Rossi's voice sometimes had the same affect on her. "Do I need to bring friends?"

"I'll speak to Fornell."

"You know I don't answer to Fornell."

"Yeah, but that old bastard knows which strings to pull and I don't have the patience to deal with politics."

"What about your director? You and the Missus Shepard work out your differences?" Penelope was actually curious about that. She knew Jethro had used their friendship in those days to put space between him and his ex. Even with as much control as Jethro Gibbs had you could always feel the tension rocket up a notch when both of them were in each other's presence.

Beginning to twirl a strand of red hair between her fingers again, Penelope realized she should have known. Only once before in her life had she gone red and she had ended up with Leroy Jethro Gibbs back then. It was only fitting that the new hair color would bring him back into her life again.

_(flashback)_

_She remembered days of picking up Jethro in that lovely BMW rental. Coming into NCIS that one time, she had known as soon as she saw the red-headed Director up on the catwalk above the offices why Jethro had wanted to see her inside his workspace. And she had thoroughly enjoyed all the flirting, the touches, and the kisses that year. Going out to eat. Friendly cookouts behind Jethro's house where both of them talked about childhoods past and only the happy memories. Fishing. Lord, that man in shorts and an open shirt. But, Jethro had been her sanctuary that first year back in the states. And maybe she had been his for that brief time. Oh, there had been no hanky-panky, no matter how hot the flirting had gotten. She had slept in the guest room of his house; he had slept on the couch. Except for those times she had noticed a certain look in his eyes and had curled up next to him on the couch with the excuse that he kept the nightmares away. He had known that it wasn't her nightmares that the cuddling was keeping at bay, of course. Yet, he still curled around her, letting the night and the quiet ease them both into a dreamless sleep. _

_Running from England, she had known that she would have to go off grid to hide. Too many years of hacking, dancing on the edge of discovery, but never quite slipping over the edge into doing something irretrievably wrong. She had gotten too daring. Her boyfriend, Ollie, had known just what challenge to issue. And she had taken up the hurled gauntlet. Not stopping to think about how seriously others might misinterpret their actions. And, while she might not have had anyone to worry about being hurt by her actions, Ollie did. So, she had taken the blame. And with her freedom on the line, she had dyed her hair, changed her appearance, grabbed her stuff, emptied her accounts of cash and ran. Doing a fast shred and dump on her own pc, which still had the power to bring tears to her eyes, and dropping her phone before boarding the plane, she had kept her head down and left England. _

_Sitting beside one Leroy Jethro Gibbs and noticing the sadness in his eyes that frantic day in the airport, she had been unable to keep from trying to cheer him up. Finding herself unaccountably telling him the short story of what she had been doing in England, in an odd third person kind of way that both of them accepted as truth, she had managed to put a lopsided smile of the handsome man's face. Working to keep that smile on his face had led to her retelling some of the tricks she and her friends had pulled at Caltech. Of course, only the truly visual and outstanding ones could be discussed. She had found that Jethro had an adorable aversion to technology. _

_He understood more than he let on though, the tricky Marine. Half of what he pretended not to know, he put on just to make her laugh she had come to understand. She had raised her head from the lowered tray in front of her that held rows and groups of peanuts and crackers that she was using to help explain the rewiring of a circuit board that her and a friend had undertaken to see him grinning at her. He had reached out and snatched a few peanuts from her tray with the comment, "It all looks like Pac-man to me, Red." That grin had her dissolving in giggles. _

_"Ace, don't be mocking my game unless you're ready to play." Her voice had come out throatier than she intended but he had taken it in form. From there on, she had relaxed even more. They had talked and flirted all the way back on the flight. Landing had been interesting as she could tell the airport personnel were looking for someone at airport security. But, Jethro had looped an arm around her waist, flashed a badge at the gate and they had walked rapidly through a scanner and left the building. The badge had her speechless till he had asked if she had any luggage. Stuttering a negative, Jethro had whisked her through the terminal. For a moment panic had overrun her mind till he had settled her inside the back seat of a taxi instead of a cruiser. When he slipped into the other side of the back seat, she had murmured, "I have a highly active imagination, my sexy silver Ace, you want to tell me what's going on?"_

_"Nothing going on. Just helping a lovely lady out, Red." Giving directions to his house, the sexy man sitting across from her had leaned back and closed his eyes as the taxi left the airport. "I'm heading home, but I'll pay for wherever you need to go once I get out."_

_Watching the lines in his face, Penelope found herself actually saying words she didn't think she would have normally revealed, "What if I'm looking for a place to hide off the grid for a little while, Jethro?" Her voice had been soft. He had introduced himself during their flight, but she had yet to give him a name. "Do you know someplace like that?"_

_Rolling his head to look at her, "Whatcha' asking for, Red?" _

_Penelope felt herself flush from head to foot. "Nothing like THAT! I mean, you're really sexy and everything. That smile you have alone is enough to curl my toes. But, I'm just getting out of a relationship; I'm not wanting to get back into one. Especially with someone that has more relationship issues than I do. But, I mean, Wow, if I was, you would be the one. Cause you are it in the one night stands department. You are the complete package. Controlling, husky voice, kick ass grin, those blue eyes, those fingers of yours just-" _

_With one of the aforementioned digits held against her lips, Jethro waited as she drug her eyes back up from where they had been taking a slow perusal down his form. His lips kept their crooked grin as he met her blushing gaze, "Have you lied to me about anything you told me on our trip?"_

_Parting her lips to answer, she felt the finger Gibbs had pressed to her lips increase their pressure slightly. Shaking her head slowly back and forth under his hand she kept her eyes on his probing ice blue stare. _

_"Then you can stay with me." Letting his hand drop, Jethro relaxed back against the seat. Her stories on the plane, even though they had been shared trying to entertain him, had struck him as being true. And he had known that she was running. He couldn't not help. Not if his gut was telling him that she needed help. Besides, he was a detective. He would find out who she was and what she was running from later._

_"You don't mean that. You just met me." Penelope almost whispered in her shock._

_"Red. Do you need a place? A safe place?"_

_Gathering her courage, Penelope nodded._

_ "Then stay with me. No expectations." His voice sounded tired. Raising his head as the taxi slowed, he looked back at her. "But you need to make a decision now, Red."_

_(end flashback)_

"Different Director now, Red." His voice gave nothing away as he made that emotionless statement, but having been a past witness to the Gibbs withdrawal and remembering the heat and bond between Gibbs and his director, Penelope was able to draw her own conclusions.

"Oh, Jethro. I'd offer my condolences if I knew you'd accept them." No matter the time that had passed, Penelope still felt her heart squeeze for Jethro Gibbs and the numbering losses he had suffered.

"I'll speak to Fornell and he'll work out with Director Vance what needs to be done. " Gibbs voice went on as if a shift in the conversation had never occurred.

"We have to be invited in, Ace." Penelope tapped her pen rapidly against her desk as she spoke, letting Gibbs route their conversation back to their earlier discussion.

"You sure as hell didn't learn that from Fornell." Gibbs' voice was wry as it ghosted over the line to her.

"Yes, Tobias wasn't a man that waited for an invitation, was he?" Reminiscence was in the air as Penelope thought about her two past acquaintances. She fondly remembered a few passionate daydreams that she had said bye-bye to that involved the two dominant men upon her moving from DC. "How soon do you need us?" Penelope's voice was brisk as she got down to the details that her team would need. Finishing her notes, she added, "We'll be there if we can get it approved."

"Red? Come by the house first?" Jethro's voice added the question before she could say goodbye.

Penelope paused, "Ace, is there something else going on? I won't have my team coming in blind." Her voice hardened. Even for Jethro she would not knowingly let her family head unwittingly into a bigger threat than they were aware of.

"Well, don't get your knickers twisted. I've got an idea. Rule 27, Red."

"There are two ways to follow someone. First way, they never notice you." The words were pulled from her memory, almost unknown but never forgotten.

"Second way, they _only_ notice you." A pregnant pause brought silence over the line as past memories for both threatened. "I might have an idea on how you could help me with that."

"I'll see if JJ approves the plan and leave her to brief the team and head out early. Do I meet you at the house?"

"Yep."

"Front door still open?"

"Yep."

"See you soon, honeycakes, let this Goddess work." Hanging up, Penelope reflected on what had turned out to be one of the best decisions she had ever made. Second only to her decision to apply to the BAU. Jethro had been her rock. Her year staying with him while she found her way had been wonderful. And, as she always said, things always happened for a reason. Through meeting Jethro, she had met Tobias Fornell with the FBI. It had truly been the step on the right path to her present.

She never regretted her decision. Hacking into the CIA for Jethro was something that Jethro's agents would never have been able to do. Not in time. Not with what they were looking for and as deep as they needed to go. Or as high up as he would need to go. Using Agent McGee's computer one day while coming in early to meet Jethro, she had ran the hack using some of her old codes, opening up a back door for the agent to find later. If he was careful, it was hidden enough that it would be available for awhile before the CIA would every suspect it was there, never mind be able to find it.

It had become too much for her heart to bear. After seeing Jethro becoming tighter and tighter every night, never sleeping. Sitting up to watch him work on his boat every night. Some nights watching him falling asleep downstairs propped on the wooden struts before getting up to shower and head in to the office. Eating nothing except maybe a sandwich and drinking the coffee she had made for him. She had gotten sick herself watching him and not being able to help. That one move had brought the FBI to her door. Or rather, to Jethro's. Luckily, Fornell had liked her. Or else, he had really trusted Jethro. Because Tobias had went to bat for her, and the FBI had made her an offer she couldn't refuse. She would have never found the family she had now if it had not been for Jethro.

Like those rules Jethro was always quoting, the one most important, that she took to heart, 'you do what you have to do, for family'. And, even if it meant facing off against her personal silver haired Ace, then that would be what she would do. No matter how sexy he was. She would present everything to the team and see if they agreed with his request. Then she would drive out to meet Jethro and find out what the mystery was. Whether her BAU family came or not, she'd be going. Because this was Gibbs, and he was family also.

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A/N: This is in answer to a challenge request for a crossover fic. I love Criminal Minds and I've found a recent fascination with NCIS. I'm hoping I don't totally alienate fans of either show, but, I've found Jethro Gibbs and David Rossi whispering in my ear to do a past story. Something to give a little more backstory to Penelope.

I'm using the 'mysterious redhead' from the earlier seasons of NCIS to represent Penelope's first stay with Gibbs. No one on NCIS really ever knew who the redhead was and she was phased out soon after. Plus, if I remember correctly, Gibbs dated (or at least would flirt with) a couple of women during the time she would pop up on the seasons and I can't see Gibbs really messing around on someone he was actually involved with. So, Penelope's past friendship is my answer to who the 'mysterious red headed woman' was on the earlier episodes.

So, hope you enjoy this preview. This will be multi-chaptered and involving both teams.

Share the reviews and what you think. I appreciate them! KK


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I'm hoping everyone continues to enjoy this. Any inconsistencies are mine. Any OOC behavior is entirely my fault. Please, enjoy! KK

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended

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Penelope finished packing her go bag. Never knowing where she would be or how long she would be there, she had found the best thing to do was to pack plenty of underwear, bras and stockings. The clothes would always take care of themselves and more toiletries could always be bought. Stepping back she looked at the one carryon and one suitcase lying open on her bed. With a few deft motions, she went about packing extra power chargers, external and USB drives containing her own programs and providing empty space to store information.

She had run only one time in her life. Luck had led her to Jethro's presence and safety. But, she still remembered the helpless feeling that had overwhelmed her. She remembered that feeling of being exposed to the world, like a live nerve, no matter what face or image she put between her and everyone else. No matter what door she shut or what cover she had pulled over her head, she had felt like every secret she had could be seen. Never again would she put herself in that position. Not if she could help it.

Reaching for the phone to call Kevin out of habit, she paused. They had had words recently and decided to have a cooling off period. She had just returned from the Alaska case. Kevin Lynch had heard about how she had run towards a dying man, trying to help him, not wanting him to be alone. No one should face that moment alone. But did her boyfriend hold her and tell her it was going to be okay? He had held her, yeah. But, he had immediately begun arguing about why she needed to leave the BAU. To transfer. That she wasn't supposed to be going into the field or into danger. That she needed to switch to a different part of the agency, or even, with her talents, find a better job in the private sector. That she could go anywhere and she should do it soon, before it went much farther.

All she had heard was him insisting that she leave her family. That the people her team had saved weren't important. That what she did wasn't important. Intellectually, she knew that he didn't mean it that way. That's what she kept telling herself. But, her emotions seemed to be all over the place lately when she was alone with him. So, they had agreed to a time out. No texts, no phone calls and no dating one another. Not till she cooled down. And not until he found some better words, hopefully. Still, it seemed wrong to leave on a job and not tell him she was going to be out of touch. Releasing the phone, she decided to email him from her work email tomorrow. Brisk, informative, but not personal. Ruefully, she acknowledged that she still hadn't let go of her ire over Kevin's and her argument.

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"Garcia, we were asked in by NCIS?" JJ pulled the folder Garcia was handing her closer, opening it to peruse what information Penelope had gathered. "Don't they usually handle their own?"

"Yes, but, this time they are dealing with a ten day time frame starting today." Penelope leaned against one corner of the JJ's desk as she quickly explained. "Their Major Case Response Team just got handed information on a probable terrorist attack. One of their techs has been tracking incident reports and routed the case to their Senior Agent. They have a naval aircraft carrier coming into port for a pre-Memorial Day ceremony for crew and their families. The other aircraft carriers that were closer to port, well, each has had some kind of malfunction that has led to them being taken from the list of eligible ships to be used. Two major injuries to crew and one fatality. Their Senior Agent got in touch with me. Since it's in our backyard almost, I brought it to you."

Raising her eyes, JJ looked curiously at her friend, "Their Senior Agent called you?"

"He's a friend, JJ." Moving from the desk, Penelope paused in the doorway, "If we don't go as a team, I'm going to take some days off and go stay with Jethro."

"Jethro, huh?" Looking back down at the case file in her hand and back up at her friend, "Would that be Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs?"

Penelope smiled briefly before becoming serious, "JJ, if Jethro is asking, something is off about this. He's never been wrong. Not for as long as I've known him."

"Give me an hour or two and I will put it before the team." JJ pulled the case closer and began to read through it in earnest as Penelope once again moved to leave the room.

"As soon as they've been briefed, I'm leaving for Washington, JJ."

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Letting her carry on slide to the floor as she shut Jethro's door behind her, Penelope leaned back against the doorframe. Taking a long look around as she set her suitcase down, she smiled. No matter how things changed, some things were still the same. Out of habit, she locked the door behind her and slid off her heels. Setting them on top of her suitcase, she dropped her keys beside them and slowly walked to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she smiled as once again she found not much of anything except a case of beer with only three remaining bottles. Taking one, she shrugged when she couldn't find a bottle opener in the drawer.

It was only 10pm. Looking back to the living room, she noticed the pillow and folded blanket on the couch hadn't been moved. Holding her beer, she walked to the basement door. She listened to the sounds of someone below. Taking the steps one at a time, she only paused when she came to the last landing. Watching Jethro as he kept up his continuous motions over what appeared to be a small rocking chair, she leaned on the banister.

"Well, Red, you gonna stand there all night?" Jethro's voice came to her, startling her out of her partial trance.

Holding her beer out, she smiled, "You gonna help a lady out, Ace?"

Putting down his tools, Gibbs came to meet her as she took the remaining steps to the basement floor. Taking her beer from her hand, he placed his opposite hand on top of the bottle, tightening his grip just enough to pop the lid when he twisted it and throwing the lid into the garbage can in the corner. When he went to hand it back to her, he found himself engulfed in a tight hug. Wrapping his free arm around her, Gibbs spoke into Penelope's hair, "It's good to see you, too." After years of Abby's attack hugs, he knew better than to try and move. When Penelope finally moved away, he handed her the beer and keeping an arm around her, led her over to the one chair. Pulling a sawhorse up next to her, he took a seat. "You look good, Red. Still enjoying the FBI?"

"I'm home there. And they're family." Shrugging her shoulders, Penelope took a sip of her beer.

"How many dinners from SecNav have you turned down?" Jethro reached up for his bottle of bourbon. Emptying out one of the small jars on the table top, he poured two fingers and tipped it towards his friend.

"Now, I don't turn down ALL of them. How would I ever get a raise from the FBI if I did that?" Penelope smiled. She had forgotten the comfort his basement offered. She realized she might have missed the smell of sawdust, the coolness of it throughout the year no matter what the outside weather was like, the shadows and the privacy. "Just because I'm beautiful, do not assume there isn't a working brain behind these gorgeous brown eyes," she fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously towards him, smiling in return when his quirky grin came forth.

"Well, Red, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Gibbs couldn't help but smile at her act. He knew there was a brain behind that pretty persona. One of the brightest in her field from what Tobias had let slip. In some ways, he wished she had stayed here, but he knew she would never have had the freedom to use the full extent of her skills for NCIS the way she was apparently able to for her BAU.

"The sexy but enigmatic Leroy Jethro Gibbs wants to 'talk'?" Penelope widened her eyes. Leaning forward, she propped her elbow on the counter and cupped her chin, "This should be good."

"I need you to be my girlfriend for a week." Gibbs took a sip of bourbon as he leaned back, watching Penelope for her reaction.

"Oh, honey, unless there's a shortage of heterosexual women here in DC, or even intersexual men, I don't think you need me to become your girlfriend." Meeting his wry grin with one of her own, "Now, why don't you tell me what you actually need from me, Ace?"

"Well, Red, what I need is that beautiful brain of yours." With a voice that was rough with tension, Gibbs went over his idea. He had thought of it while calling Penelope and worked out most of the angles while waiting for her to arrive. Something that no one ever seemed to quite realize, there was a quiet peace that came while he worked on his projects. Most of the time, it let his mind find a peace of its own. But, at other times, it freed his mind to mull over things till he came to a solution. Finished putting forth his idea, Gibbs threw back the rest of his bourbon and waited on Penelope's response.

"Jethro, it's a variation of Rule 27. They are going to notice both of us." Penelope set her empty beer bottle down.

"Yeah. But, Red, I can guarantee that the reason they'll be looking at me and you will be because no one can take their eyes off you, especially me." Standing up, Gibbs pulled Penelope to her feet after she struggled to hide a yawn. "Come upstairs and get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning."

Shaking her head, Penelope followed her friend up the stairs but tugged him to a stop when they came to the bottom of the stairs. "No. We have to get this straightened out before bringing it before my team." Turning to the living room, "Come on, my sexy silver Ace, and let's get more comfortable while we talk it through, because after the last case, my team isn't going to be agreeable to me being in the thick of things without one of them as a guard."

"The last case, Red?" Gibbs sat down on the couch and pulled Penelope closer, rapidly falling back into the comfortable closeness they had before she had left for Quantico, Virginia. He let the question fill the silence, not looking at her, just leaning his head back on the couch as he closed his eyes, waiting patiently on her answer.

"We were tracking down an Unsub - what we call the big bad guy, the unknown subject – in Alaska. They needed me there. No one else would have been able to work with the equipment that was available. Or been able to get it to work efficiently. So, I was there." Leaning to the side, she laid her head on Jethro's chest, letting the quiet 'thump' of his heart calm her. Breathing deeply, she continued, "I was there, outside that night, when the Unsub killed someone. I heard a man cry out, in pain. And I ran-" Penelope shuddered to a stop.

"Penelope-" Gibbs began as she raised her head to look at him.

"I ran to him, Jethro. I didn't run away. Five years ago when you knew me, I was scared of a lot of things. I was insecure in some ways. You met me when I was on the run. But I'm not running now. Not anymore." Trying to make him understand, not wanting this conversation to go the same way the conversation with Kevin had gone, she took his hand in hers, smoothing her fingernails in soft circles over his palm as she continued. "It was night. No one else was awake. He was all alone. I couldn't let him die if there was a way I could save him. And I couldn't let him-" grasping his hand in both of hers, she breathed deep. "I couldn't let him die all alone, the last thing he saw the person who killed him."

Not saying a word, Gibbs just held her.

"I've watched horrible acts on my screens, Jethro. Things that I never thought possible for one person to even contemplate doing to another. I watch the god-awful things people do to one another so I can find some little something that will help my team find the god-awful person that is doing them. Most of the time, I find something that can help. Sometimes I don't. But it's all there. On my screens. This man was breathing the same air as me, his hand was warm in mine, and, then, then, he wasn't. There was nothing between him and me. And he was just gone." Even though her eyes teared up, Penelope refused to succumb to crying again. She stared up at the ceiling of Gibbs living room, willing her tears not to spill. "Now, after everything, everyone on my team walks around me like I'm breaking. And it is driving me crazy."

"Ah, Red." Gibbs hugged her close, "Don't want you to ever lose that heart of yours." Tucking her head under his chin, he waited till she had regained her composure before releasing her and settling her back beside him. "Now, let's talk about how you're going to explain my idea to that overprotective team of yours."

Getting up, he walked to the refrigerator and got out the last two beers. Bringing them back to the couch, he opened them both and handed one to Penelope. Leaning back, he waited till she settled back against him. "I will keep you safe, Penelope Garcia. You have my word."

Penelope leaned back against Gibbs, "Never doubted my safety with you, Jethro." Clinking her bottle against his, she took a long swallow. "So, let's go over this idea again. Just how much of a fully functioning 'boyfriend' are you going to be? Because, you know, I've been reassessing this 'whole package' thing you have going on and –" she broke off in giggles as Jethro's chuckle vibrated through his chest…

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Sitting in MTAC, Ziva impatiently tapped her foot. "What are we doing here?"

Tony stood beside her, looking across at the unknown personnel across the room talking to Commander Vance. McGee was sitting at the computers beside the group and there was no one else in the room.

"What are we waiting for?" Moving to take a step towards the Director as the door to MTAC opened, Ziva paused. Everyone looked up to see a red-haired familiar looking woman coming in, followed by Gibbs.

"At a guess, I would say we were waiting on the Boss and – his girlfriend?" Tony's voice rose on a question as he finally recognized the woman Gibbs was escorting down the steps. Tony let his eyes wander over the woman as she came further into the lighted area of MTAC. The plain black rimmed glasses did little to hide the glinting eyes. And the serious grey dress did not hide the woman's curves, and though she had the typical Gibbs red-haired, the edges of black lace that peeked over the low cut top of her dress and the faint dark purple streaks in her hair were not typical. Neither were the black lace half-knuckle gloves she wore nor the black silk stockings. Unthinkingly his eyes were attracted to that single seam that traveled up the back of her legs. Tony couldn't help the way his eyes were drawn to them as she passed.

At least not until the brisk slap to the back of his head and a muttered, "Eyes up, Dinozzo" came to him as his Boss passed.

Uttering an involuntary, "Yes, Boss," he moved to fall behind Gibbs as he approached the Director. Ziva fell in behind as well and they all arrived next to McGee at the same time.

Director Vance began introductions as Gibbs and the unknown woman went to speak with McGee. "SSA Aaron Hotchner, SSA David Rossi, SSA Dr. Spencer Reid, Communications Director and Liaison Jennifer Jareau, Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia from the F.B.I.'s Behavioral Analysis Unit, this is Special Agent in Charge Jethro Gibbs, Senior Field Agent Tony Dinozzo, Agent Ziva David and Agent Timothy McGee of our Major Case Response Team. I am Director Leon Vance. To sum up why we are all here, two days ago my team was handed information about a terrorist threat to the upcoming naval ceremony planned in five days. Due to the publicity of the event and the need to settle this quickly, NCIS has invited-" if there was an added inflection to the word invited from Director Vance, it was overlooked by those present, "the FBI's Behavioral Analyst Unit to help determine the person or persons unknown who are threatening our service men and their families."

Waving everyone to seats, Director Vance motioned to McGee. Continuing his talk, Vance detailed the information they had received and what the NCIS team had discovered to date. Tony looked to where Gibbs had sat down by the female Tech Analyst and McGee. Something wasn't right. Gibbs not protesting the FBI involvement? Maybe it had to do with his 'girlfriend'? Tony listened with half an ear to what he already knew. His insatiable curiosity had been aroused and he had to know. Pulling his attention back to the screen, he listened as Vance turned the meeting over to SSA Hotchner.

The man with the ultra serious demeanor stood up. "We've been reviewing the situations that led to each event on the other aircraft carriers. We've spoken to your Medical Examiner Dr. Mallard about the two injuries and one fatality that led to the Cabot being the ship that the naval celebration will be held on." Everyone's attention was on the summary.

"Your Agent McGee and our Technical Analyst Miss Garcia have both gone over the computer programs that were running the systems involved on each ship. They have isolated the markers of a virus program that was introduced to each system. Reviewing the systems of the Cabot has not revealed any of these markers. This leads us to believe that the Unsub or Unsubs are now present on the Cabot and are prepared to introduce the program at a set time and place." Here, Agent Hotchner looked at Director Vance before continuing.

"We've decided the best option is to introduce two teams onto the Cabot. One will be the visual team with our Agent McGee and Agent David. Agents David and McGee will be there to visually research the members of the crew and go over the systems looking for the markers of the program our terrorists are using and to watch for the insertion of the program. SSA Rossi as a retired Marine will be there as an invitee and will be the liaison between our two teams. We will make sure all eyes are on our first team."

Director Vance picked up, "Our second team will be our covert team who will be there as invitees. One of our own agents and one of yours. While eyes are on our first team, our second team will be able to also watch for inconsistencies in the vessel's crew while also keeping a second check on the ship systems. Secretary of the Navy and our office refuse to let anyone threaten US military personnel and their families, especially on our home territory. This will be a media nightmare if anything about this threat becomes public knowledge."

The quiet blonde SSA agent spoke up, "I might have some ideas on how to handle that, Director Vance. We should talk." Everyone began standing up and moving towards the screen to get a better look at the different areas of information that interested them.

Tony asked the question that was uppermost in his mind. "Who's going to be in the second team?"

Gibbs walked over to lean one hip against the edge of the desk Penelope Garcia was sitting at. "Well, Denozzo, that would be me. I'm going to take my girlfriend to see me get an award."

While NCIS team members understood his reference to the FBI technical analyst, most of the FBI agents seemed confused.

"Who will be the in the second team with Agent Gibbs?" the question came from Agent Rossi as he rose.

The cheery red haired analyst sighed rather loudly, "I can't believe you waited to the last second to invite me, Jethro." Spinning around in her chair at the computer, Penelope crossed one leg over the other as she continued, "We only speak on the phone for the past five years since we last lived together and suddenly you whisk me away for a romantic holiday weekend. I believe you have overwhelmed my sensibilities, Ace." Shaking one brightly painted finger at their agent, she 'tut-tutted' playfully at him. She grinned as Gibbs caught her finger and hand in both of his.

"You'd rather I underwhelmed you, Red?" Gibbs voice was humorously sardonic as he leaned down and turned her back to her screens, asking her a question about the roster for the crew.

SSA Rossi raised a hand towards his co-worker, "Hotch."

"It's been decided, Dave. Director Vance, Agent Gibbs, Garcia and I met this morning. The details have been worked out already." SSA Hotchner nodded at Gibbs. Looking back at the group, he continued, "Dr. Reid, if you'll go speak to their resident forensic scientist, a Miss Abby Sciuto. Dave and I will revisit Dr. Mallard." As everyone left on their assignments, Director Vance and Agent Jareau stood to the side, finishing up a conversation.

On his way out the door, still not easy with Hotch's answer, David Rossi turned back in time to see Gibbs invading Penelope's personal space where she was sitting at the computer. Watching for a minute, he turned back to catch up with his friend. Letting the door shut behind him, his brow furrowed with concentration. Seeing Penelope and Agent Gibbs coziness with each other made him uneasy for an entirely different reason. One he wasn't sure he was quite comfortable with yet.

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**A/N:** So, how is everyone reacting? If you forgive me for leaving out a lot of the details of the 'mission' parameters, I'm OCD for details and if I try to make a truly workable theory for a case on an aircraft carrier, we'll be here all day and I would be writing for a living instead of working the job I have right now. Still enjoying the story? Anything out and out OOC that you see? It's the very first time I've written anything with the NCIS team involved. Let me know how you're feeling and what you thing so far?

Hope you're continuing to enjoy! KK


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** This next chapter is going to be a section of short drabbles highlighting interactions and conversations that occur between our favorite two teams over the next few days before the Cabot makes port. Hopefully it will also explain some of the situations and friendships that I might choose to explore later in one shots.

I hope you all enjoy this short look (or long if you're actually considering the length of this chapter, lol) at our members. I really enjoyed trying to capture the unique characteristics and factors of each person. I hope I did well.

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Penelope glanced across at McGee. All the computer knowledge she had, she had taught herself. It had given her a lot of outside the box ideas. Sometimes she wondered what she missed out on by not finishing her degree at Caltech. It's why she took the occasional course now and then. It gave her a different perspective. And seeing how other programmers thought didn't hurt her any. When you thought about, it was just a different way of profiling, her hacking ability. She wouldn't be as good if she wasn't able to sometimes think like the people that wrote the systems she was trying to gain access to.

"Oooh, that's nice. How long did it take you to work up that modifier?" Penelope couldn't help but notice an extension added to the traditional search program McGee was using.

"I've been working on it for a while now. It's something I use to quantify probabilities for when we narrow down suspects." McGee's voice was steady as he continued his work.

Penelope admired that, someone that was able to multitask and still stay orientated on the reality about them. "I have just one question. Can you let me copy it and how long do you think it will take to integrate it with my Linux based system? Well, I guess that's two questions. If you don't want to give me a copy, at least give me the parameters so I can start working out a system program for mine?" she noticed Jethro squeezing her shoulders as he stood back to full height.

"Red, I'm going to get some coffee. You're staying with me, so I'll cook tonight. Meet you back at the elevators this evening." Gibbs turned to head back up the stairs, pausing only to listen to her reply.

"Oh, I do so love your confidence. I told you the commanding voice was part of the whole package thing you have going on. Command me, my sexy Silver Ace, it gives me such a thrill." Penelope turned around to keep an eye on the amazing sight of Jethro Gibbs' backside.

Gibbs' voice rumbled as he attempted to deter her good natured ribbing, "Penelope, be good."

Winking with deliberate flirtatious attitude, she couldn't help but add, "I thought the whole reason you invited me here was so I could be bad?"

Gibbs lips quirked with humor, unable to get irritated with Penelope's innate affection, "Not till we get on the ship, Red. Then you can be as bad as you want." A full-blown smile graced his face as he let his eyes wander deliberately over her form and rise back up, following the slow progression of her blush, till he met her merry eyes. Turning, he took the steps with quick steps as he left MTAC to Penelope's drawled, "Promise?"

When the door shut behind Jethro, Penelope turned back to her systems, "Ah ah, don't touch that yet. I still have that running. Let it finish." With a grin, she looked at McGee, "Show me yours and I'll show you mine."

JJ walked towards her friend as she finished conversation with Director Vance. "You planned that well. You know if Morgan wasn't at his mother's this week for a vacation this wouldn't be happening."

"JJ, after all the time I spent convincing him I was fine and that he could go visit his mother, if any of you so much as think about calling him with this, I'll pull everyone's most embarrassing photos from high school and create the most memorable graphic novel the FBI has ever seen of the BAU team. It will go around the office for the rest of your lives. You will never live it down. None of you will." Penelope's glare came through the reflection of the screen in front of her as she made her treat.

Holding her hands before her, JJ laughed, "Hang on, wild woman. No one is talking about tattling to Morgan. I was just making a statement. We don't have Morgan here and he's usually your best protector. And with Emily out of state visiting her mother, you'll only have Agent Gibbs to back you up."

Sighing with exasperation, Penelope pursed her lips with friendly irritation, "What none of you seem to understand is that I'm not totally helpless. Plus, Jethro will always make sure I come out on top." Watching as JJ turned and left the floor, she thought about the last sentence she had uttered. "And Jennifer Jareau, get that smirk off your face this instant!" A giggle floating down to her was her only answer.

Huffing as she reached across to input the final search engine directive, she caught a glance at the suppressed smile gracing her co-worker's face, "And you too Timmy, before I have to go all 'Vicki' on your ass without your fairy godparents here to save you."

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Rossi let the doors of the elevator close as he and Hotch headed to Autopsy. Seeing the stop button, he reached across and stopped the elevator, wanting a brief word with his friend away from listening ears. "Aaron, you're letting Penelope into the field?"

Hotchner closed the folder he had been reviewing and turned to his friend, "She and Agent Gibbs put forth their case to Director Vance and I earlier. It's a sound idea, Dave. And we only have six days left to put this in place before 3000 Marines and their families descend on the Cabot. We're all working to discover the threat before then, but there has to be a plan in place in case we don't succeed."

Dave paced in place a bit as he tried to come up with a different working solution, "What about Prentiss and Morgan? They'll both be back soon. We could call them in."

"Neither of them has the computer savvy that will be needed to review the system and make any corrections that are needed. Also, neither of them have the working knowledge of naval systems to be paired with Garcia." Aaron watched his friend.

Facing the corner of the elevator, Dave spit out his next idea, "Then pair her with me. I have the same reason to be on that ship as Agent Gibbs."

"I considered that idea, Dave. Once this operation is ended, you and Garcia will have to return to Quantico. I do not want to put either of you in a position that will become uncomfortable for either of you or one that will strain the dynamics of our team. Unless there is more to your friendship with her than I know of, it would be best for this team and the success of this operation for her to go in with Agent Gibbs, someone she already has a close friendship with. Also, someone that is already acknowledged to his known co-workers as a past relationship. The background is already in place for their relationship to be believable," Hotchner watched Dave carefully. He had warned Dave from the very beginning of his return to the BAU, he would not have his team compromised by a casual flirtation. And no matter how much he admired Dave's abilities, he was not blind to the rumors that surrounded Rossi after his first divorce. Nor his second or third divorces.

Rossi turned back to face the doors, "We're working with an unknown team here, Aaron. You're pairing Penelope with an agent we know nothing about."

"Dave, the decision has been made. The best thing at this time is to do everything we can to protect our two teams and ensure this operation continues to run smoothly. I've spoken with Director Vance. He assures me that Agent Gibbs and his team are highly qualified and extemporary at their job. And Garcia says she has utmost trust in Agent Gibbs."

Reaching out to return the elevator to its original descent, this reassurance did not help Dave clear his mind.

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Leaning inside the doorway, Dr. Spencer Reid listened to the music coming from the speakers. Seeing motion in the back office, he stepped the rest of the way inside. "Ah-hem. They told me to look for a Goth girl named Abby?"

The dark haired woman in the black dress with one single ponytail stood up straight from her stance over her computer. "I'm not a Goth!"

Stammering a little, Reid's gaze met the darkly outlined one of the woman in front of him, "Ok. Can you tell me how to find Abby?" Swallowing awkwardly, Reid walked farther into the room. "The agent at the elevator told me to look for a Goth but I haven't seen any Germanic people on this hallway yet. And trying to determine Roman facial features among the few people I've encountered has not helped either." Frustration underscored the last statement.

"What are you talking about?" Abby's confusion showed on her face.

Going into detail mode, Reid explained, "Well, Goth originally referred to an East Germanic people with two main branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths. Both branches played a main role in the emergence of Medieval Europe through the fall of the Roman Empire. They each were strong family structures that could trace their origins back centuries." Reid paused upon noticing the woman in front of him wasn't regarding him with the usual mystification people tended to give him when he went into full information mode.

"Oh, okay." Abby went to return to her work when she was interrupted again.

"I was told to speak with an Abby Sciuto? When will she be here?" Reid's voice caused her to turn her attention back to him with a huff of air.

"I'm Abby Sciuto."

Spencer Reid took a moment to reorder his thoughts. "Oh, he meant the Urban Mythology of Goth, not the real definition," Reid's voice was low, talking more to himself than anything as he came to the realization.

"Urban Myth?" Now Abby was intrigued. The strange young man in her lab seemed to be both naïve and knowing, the combination in one person was….interesting.

"Well, most people believe that Goths just listen to death metal music and are depressed or suicidal. Common understanding is that they worship with satanic rituals. Which, if you're interested, Agent David Rossi was the one who debunked the suburban legend of the killer satanic cult and he's one of the agents with us today. But, the popular understanding of Goth culture is a misnomer as most true Goths don't fit the definition of Goth." Winding up his speech, Spencer Reid walked closer and began moving his hands to emphasize his points, "Like you, they each have their own unique style. Our Technical Analyst has her own unique style which sets her apart from most people. True Goths are what they are because it makes them happy, whether it makes them popular or not. Usually they are intelligent and creative. This, under that definition, makes people like Albert Einstein or Dr. Paul Erdos true Goths."

Abby watched the man's eyes as she pushed, "Dr. Paul Erdos?"

"He was one of the most gifted mathematicians of all time. He wrote 1500 scientific papers but he lived as a homeless derelict. Dr. Erdos shunned all material possessions saying that 'property is nuisance.'" Spencer came to a stop, realizing he had been talking for the past few minutes.

Abby walked towards the young man. Walking around him in a circle, she spoke, "I knew who he was, but, that was like, just, Wow. That's really amazing. I remember a lot of stuff. And if I don't remember it, I can find it. Or I can get someone to help me find it. But that's beside the point. The point is that you remembered all that and were still able to recite it like you were reading from the computer. Who are you? How'd you do that?" Abby had always been amazed by other people's superpowers and this was extremely cool.

With a depreciating smile, the pretty blond man replied, "I'm Dr. Spencer Reid. I'm with the FBI. Agent Gibbs asked us in to help with the case you just received for the Cabot."

Abby felt her eyes widen, she couldn't control it, "Gibbs?! MY Gibbs asked you in? Wait. Forget that." She waved her hands as if to push aside spider webs between them, "I'll find out about that later. How'd you do all that?"

"I have an eidetic memory." The words explained a lot as he gave her the answer.

Tapping her finger against her upper lip, she inspected him closely, "I've read about that. Its more than photographic memory, isn't it? You have not only visual, but auditory, tactile, olfactory, and even taste, or any kind of combination of those. That can't be entirely comfortable. How can you tell your memories and dreams from reality? But, you seem remarkably able to control your memory recall."

It was one of the few times someone had understood that there truly WAS a difference in photographic and eidetic memory. Finding himself actually able to speak about it with someone who understood, Spencer continued, "I had to learn ways of accessing my own memories."

Abby felt her curiosity stir. Cracking her fingers before stepping closer to the intriguing man, she smiled as she spoke, "So, you're like a human super computer. It makes me just want to push all your buttons and see what happens….."

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Ducky's voice echoed as it always did in Autopsy. This time he had a larger audience, including not only Gibbs, Dinozzo, McGee, and David; but also, the BAU members, Rossi, Hotchner, and Jareau. "If you look at the original two injuries, they are consistent with a quick but debilitating injury to both officers." Placing photos on the empty autopsy table so that all team members could see them, Ducky continued, "Both accidents caused damage to the officers in such an extreme manner as to warrant their early retirement from service. Here are both their medical records listing their injuries and rehabilitation efforts."

"Now," turning to the body on the table behind him, he slowly moved around the table so that he could face the room, "Officer Jensen here, did not escape from the accident that claimed his life. While all the accidents were visual and done in such a way as to look like a mechanical malfunction, this last fatality shows an increase in the severity of the mechanical breakdown."

Agent Hotchner slowly turned the pages of the folder he was holding, "It could have been overlooked as just another systems' failure except for the severity of the accident. If the analysts had not brought it to the attention of your team, none of these events would have been connected. Dr. Mallard, what did you determine from your autopsy?"

Dr. Mallard continued, "There were no toxins introduced to the body. I have found no medical conditions that pre-date his accident that would have affected the officer at the time of the misfortune. All recent damage has been done by a weapon. In this case, if I understand our agents correctly, the weapon appears to be one of our jets?" Here Ducky looked to the team members around him.

Agent Hotchner looked to his team and with a nod, "We're ready to give our profile. We can have that here and you can notify others as you see fit. I'm to meet with Director Vance once we are finished. Agent Jareau will make and deliver copies of our notes to each of you."

"Analyst Garcia and Agent McGee have discovered something I thought they should go over before we proceed." Turning on the large TV on the wall across from the tables, JJ stepped to the side to give everyone room. An image of Penelope and Timothy sitting next to each other appeared on screen.

Both Timothy and Penelope tried to speak at once before Penelope let him continue, "Working on the advice of Agent Hotchner, Miss Garcia and I expanded our search to include base accident information for the local base housing and work areas. When we did, we discovered other accidents that fit the preliminary profile for any misfortunes that we were given by your agents. Once we were able to do this, we were able to narrow down a progression in activity for our terrorists."

"And as your Oracles of all Knowledge, we have sent this information to all of you for review. We've found accidents that range from stop lights changing suddenly causing minor incidents to emergency shut downs and areas being evacuated due to air systems suddenly turning off. This person, or persons, is slowly escalating each time these accidents occur, adding a greater and wider area of control over a greater number of people." Looking worriedly at Timothy, she nodded and Timothy began to speak.

"We think that at least one of the people involved has to be at an extremely high skill level with computers. We've pulled a list of all base personnel with backgrounds or positions in a computer or technical position that have a connection in any way to the Cabot and other ships. We need more parameters to shorten the list." Pausing, McGee looked down at his screen before gazing at Gibbs, "Boss, someone had to write the code for this program. And, they had to be on a level equal to mine or higher." Timothy looked over at Penelope and she took up the speech.

The pen in her hand was a bright pink with spunky little pom-poms bouncing on top as she tapped her pen on the notebook to her side. "I've started back traces on every piece of code that we could find that was introduced to the systems that were running at each accident site. But, it's going to take time for them to run. They may not complete by the time our ceremony on the Cabot begins."

"Since our time frame is limited, it has been decided that both teams will travel out to the Cabot a day early and ride in with the ship. Team One will have the excuse of setting up systems for the upcoming ceremony, while Team Two will be there for so that Agent Gibbs can spend some time with his date before his time is taken by the upcoming ceremony." JJ leaned back upon the cabinet beside the TV, "We believe there is more than one person involved with this. At least three or more."

Agent Hotchner took up the explanation, "The group leader is someone that we refer to as a Sociopathic Narcissist. This type of person often convinced they are above the normal responsibilities and obligations of everyday life. They usually have significant difficulties maintaining employment or relationships as a result. They have an excessive and persistent need for the admiration of others and need positive reinforcement. While ferocious in the defense of any impeachment on what they perceive as their rights, they have a noticeable lack of regard for the rights of others, even violating those rights with regular tendencies."

"I've read about this, the person you are describing is the type of person that makes an excellent first impression, but once he learns his job, he becomes disassociated from that job. Bored. More prone to errors." Dr. Mallard continued, "Each of you probably know at least one person with narcissistic tendencies. This person is the one who, when someone is recounting a story, they will always have to recount a better one, exaggerating accomplishments or contacts to the point of lying." In a side statement to his friend, "I always disliked people like that, Jethro. Always ruined the whole sport of relating oral history."

"This person would have had behavior problems throughout his teenage years. Any crimes would have included aggression, exploitation, or manipulation. That's if he has actually been caught for any of his crimes. A failure to accept responsibility for his own actions and the ability to manipulate others through his own denial. He will often have charm and guile working for him. Do not attempt to confront this person. The Sociopathic Narcissist will react with uncontrolled anger, especially if it is done before his co-workers." JJ's voice was strong and sure as she brought attention back to the folders they each held in their hands.

"The partner or partners of our Narcissist will be difficult to find. They will thrive in a controlled environment such as a military situation. Control makes them feel safe and secure. The only complaints you will hear about most co-dependents is that they tend to step into other people's boundaries, telling them what they should or shouldn't do. And this is because they will have no ability to communicate effectively with others." Dr. Spencer Reid talked quickly, the irony of himself talking about others inability to communicate effectively not lost on him, "They are often withdrawn and closed off, making it hard for others to get to know them."

Agent David Rossi shut his folder and knocked it on the table twice before laying it flat. "We are looking for a team of two to three people. If you come across any of these people, please do not confront them in front of others. You will only be bringing possible hostages to their attention. In a ship the size of the Cabot, the main place to control anything or everything on the ship would be from the Bridge of the ship. Depending on what their plan is, they could also be attempting to use the Island or the CDC (Combat Direction Center). Team One will have access to all these places and will, in the course of 'updating' the systems, review and maintain vigilance on these systems."

Agent Gibbs briefed the rest with short statements, "Meanwhile, Penelope and I will be 'sightseeing' as I show her around the ship. She'll have time to review Team One's findings. There are also a few places that can be broken into to gain access to the systems throughout the ship but they are usually very well protected and insulated against any harm. We'll be checking these spots as well." Slapping his folder against his hand, Gibbs straightened and spoke to everyone, "Okay. McGee and David, gear up. We leave out tomorrow morning for the Cabot by helo."

"Garcia, Rossi, wheels up in 15 hours. You will be the only members from our unit to go out to the Cabot. It goes without saying, be safe and keep in contact. Agent Dinozzo and Dr. Reid will be doing interviews with the suspects on base over the next few days." Agent Hotchner nodded at everyone before JJ turned off the computer screen and headed to meet with Director Vance. As he prepared to leave, Hotch walked up to Dr. Mallard.

"Dr. Mallard, you seem to be interested in psychological autopsy. You might be interested in some of the lectures our division gives from time to time. And we would be interested in hearing your unique observations and personal experiences. Please, here's my card, contact me when this case is over with and I'll put you in touch with one of our operatives in communications whom you can speak with." Hotch was sincere in his regard.

"Why, thank you Agent Hotchner. I must admit, other than the imminent threat we are facing, I have found observing you and your team work has been fascinating." Accepting the card, Dr. Mallard moved away to place it on his desk. "I would quite enjoy sharing insights with others in your field of work. And, please, call me Ducky. All my friends do."

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Reid sat down at the desk they had given him to work at. Spreading out the list of rosters before him, he started running his fingers down each list as he looked at them side by side. Nothing distracted him till his phone rang at his side.

"Dr. Spencer Reid."

Emily Prentiss' smooth voice came through loud and clear. "Hey, Spencer."

"Emily? Hi! I thought you were visiting your mother while she was in the states?" Spencer put quick marks where he had left off on both the Alpha rosters and sat back in his chair.

With a depreciating laugh, Emily replied, "Let's just say that I stepped out for a small break from family togetherness. How's the team?"

"We're in DC. I was going to leave with JJ this evening to find somewhere to eat dinner. Anywhere you would recommend?" Spencer began putting his folder and papers back in order and packing it into his ever present messenger bag.

Spencer finished packing up and turning off the lamp on his desk. Talking to Emily about miscellaneous things and listening as Emily Prentiss talked about the difficulties she had encountered trying to spend a week in the presence of her mother without them starting an argument, Spencer walked to the elevator to ride up to meet JJ.

Thinking that getting Emily's opinion might be better than trying to ask one of his co-workers that was here while they were working on a case, he decided to ask Emily his question. They had talked before about past relationships. Well, some. But, it was a casual question. Emily should be able to give him some simple advice. "Emily, there's this woman here. She invited me out to a munch. Should I go?"

The line was quiet for a few seconds before Emily's slow murmur drifted to him. "Well." Emily tried again, "Spencer, if that is your type of thing, a munch is usually the first and best place to start. I didn't know you were into the scene though."

Spencer's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Emily, I've always enjoyed trying different things. I know sometimes I have to get someone to show me things and explain them to me, but, when have I ever actually not tried something new that you know of."

"Well, Spencer, that was more than I ever knew about you. See, there are still some secrets we all have from each other," a chuckle from Emily could be heard. "I'm glad you're so open to the scene. And if you want to be introduced to it in Washington, then a munch is the best place to start."

Spencer paused for a moment, "Scene? I thought a munch was like a brunch? Just at a different time?" Maybe he HAD misunderstood what Abby was asking him.

Sighing out a laugh, Emily began to explain, "No. A munch is something much different. I really think you need to read up on what a munch is when you get back to your room tonight. And don't ask anyone else what it is unless you want a bunch of teasing."

Spencer pressed the button for the elevators when he reached the area in the hall. "Okay. What do I need to tell this girl?"

Emily thought a moment before she responded, "Spencer, I don't want to influence you."

"Emily, you need to tell me what to say. She asked me to let her know tomorrow if I wanted to attend a munch this weekend." Pleading was in Spencer's tone.

Emily smiled, "Just tell her you're not sure about having a munch in a new town yet, but, if you change your mind, you'll get back in touch with her later."

Breathing out as the elevator doors opened in front of him, Spencer stepped inside and pressed the number for the floor JJ was on. As the doors shut, he felt some of his anxiety bleed away, but, his curiosity was now raised, "What exactly am I going to be reading about, Emily?"

"Well, Reid, you're going to learn about introductions to the BDSM world." Emily was moving around on the other end of the phone, Reid could hear a door close.

"That's what a munch is?" Reid squeaked a little on the reply.

"Reid, it's not a big bad world. It can be as vanilla or as dark as you want to go. You control the situations. You are the one that determines how much control you give up. It's all about negotiation." Emily was enjoying this conversation with Reid. At least it was taking her mind off her brief aggravation with her mother. "You'll find a munch is the best way to start out. You may want a partner, but the best thing to have is friends. Friends in the scene will tell you who is safe and who is not, who you might want to meet, and who you might want to mentor with."

Spencer stepped off the elevator and waited in the hallway for JJ to finish her conversation. "Emily, this is so strange. Why would Abby invite me to a munch after just two meetings?" He paused as a new thought came to him and he posed his next question with a curious smile, "Emily, how do you know what a munch is?"

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This case was causing him more consternation than any they had had recently. It wasn't that he had doubts in the agents they were working with at NCIS. It was more. Well, watching his team interact with the other agents was causing him to rearrange his thoughts. He had been so sure of his decisions up till this case. Sure of his place. Just, well, his certainty was no longer, certain. Noticing he had come to the open doorway to the lab, he looked inside trying to find Spencer Reid.

Stopping in the doorway, his eyes were drawn to the lab coat that was barely covering the luscious ass that was swaying in front of him. Taking one more step inside to get a better view of the black lacy skirt that came from beneath the lab coat and ended just mid-thigh. Clear white skin began and ended at the top of black socks that started at the back of her knees with little white bows at the top of them. Letting his eyes complete their inspection down to the platform black boots, he stood still as his eyes began their journey back up again.

"Hope you're enjoying the view." Abby's voice was cheerful. She had felt him the moment he had stepped into the room, but since she didn't have any new information, she knew it wasn't Gibbs. Glancing back over her shoulder, she had quickly summed up the agent standing just inside her doorway and liked what she had seen.

David Rossi jerked his eyes upward but he was looking at the back of a woman's head with two dark ponytails gracing her shoulders as bent over her table. Thinking he might have stepped into someone's idea of office fun, he quickly looked around before returning to meet the eyes of the woman who now faced him. She had her arms akimbo and hands stuck in the pockets of her lab coat. Her smile was pretty but it was the bright green eyes that tugged at him.

"Oh, don't worry, it's just you and me here." Abby walked to the edge of her table, closer to the intriguing agent she had only heard about but had yet to meet.

"I think I might have given you the wrong impression. I was looking for-" Rossi was interrupted abruptly.

"Someone with incredible taste and kickass footwear? Then look no farther. And don't pretend you weren't waiting to see up my skirt." Her smile grew wider as Abby attempted to shake him. Here was someone else that just screamed controlled. Oh, how she would like to muss him up.

Refusing to be intimidated, especially by what might be the truth, Agent Rossi explained, "Miss, I think I've walked into the wrong lab. If you'll give me directions, I'll move on."

Abby eased toward him, not wanting to chase him off. Moving around him and watching as he took two more steps into the room as she walked behind him, she smiled. Nice ass! "But, you're off to such a good start. You haven't made one apology. You were actively enjoying the view. And you haven't managed to insult me once in the amount of time I've allowed you to speak. Actually, the fact that you aren't giving off any hinky vibes making me want to throw you out of my lab is actually in your favor." Arriving back in front of him, she held out her hand. Now for the attraction test, "My name is Abby Sciuto, Forensics Psychologist."

"FBI David Rossi." Rossi shook the hand before him, surprised by the heat in the grip of her hand before she stepped back.

"Ah, the David Rossi that debunked the myth of ritualistic satanic killers? I'm glad to meet you." Her lips quirked in their own special smile as she remembered where she had gotten that tidbit of knowledge. These FBI agents were so new and fun to play with.

"You are?" Perplexed for a moment, Rossi let his eyes roam over the woman in front of him again.

"Yes. And I'm really glad I caught you admiring the view. It bodes well for when you ask me out to dinner later." With a step, the woman turned from him with a lift in her walk and bent back over her console, completing whatever action she had been in the middle of with a few deft motions.

David Rossi let himself smile as he watched the form in front of him. He had not thought of asking her out. But, now that she had mentioned it. He let his eyes take a quick moment to trail over the form before him again.

"Oh, you're going to ask me. You won't be able to help yourself," Abby's strangely husky voice came to him again. "Your curiosity is too great now that you've talked to me."

Rossi pinpointed the thing that was holding him back. Something he had not even realized that he had been thinking about lately. Maybe it had been in the back of his mind most of this week and that was what had been bothering him. He had always viewed the rest of his team as off limits. Plus, he had never wanted to be the father figure that Agent Gideon was to the team so he had been very careful about his involvement with them. Looking at the figure before him, he wondered if there were other worries he should have thought about in regards to being a 'father' figure to his team. "This doesn't bother you?" Rossi motioned over his face with one hand.

"Nope. I like a man with a little scruff on his face. Makes things interesting in the bedroom." Abby began walking around the room, pausing only for a moment as she passed Rossi to pat the beard that graced his cheek, taking a minute to rub her hand against his jaw as she cupped it. Patting his cheek, she walked to her desk.

"No. I mean the age difference." Now he couldn't help but watch her form. Her deliberate flirtation with him was having the expected effect and his interest in this unusual but knowledgeable woman. "Age doesn't bother you?"

Abby leaned over her terminal on her desk and emailed Dinozzo her findings to date. Not that they were findings, just verification of what the team had already postulated. And, sure, she could have sat down at her desk to do it, but where was the fun in that? Especially when she could feel the FBI agent's eyes traveling over her legs again. This was fun. Finishing her attachment, she zipped it to Dinozzo before turning and shaking her finger at the tall dark Italian in her lab, "For shame, Agent Rossi, accusing me of ageism." With a swagger in her step, she slowly stalked towards him, "I tend to date older, David. Can I call you David? Or, do you prefer Dave? David, I have a wonderful father. I don't have any unresolved 'daddy' issues. Nor do I have any desire to play 'daddy' games. But, if you like, we can talk more about all that later. When you pick me up for dinner. Here, at 7pm." Reaching her prey, she linked her arm with his and walked him to the door of her lab. "But, you need to leave now. You're distracting me from my work." With a quick kiss on his check, she stepped away and winked before turning to head back to her workstation.

"Abby." Not even stopping to consider the strangeness of him addressing a woman he just met by her first name, Dave drew her attention back to him for a moment.

"Yes?" Abby looked at him with vague curiosity, her attention already being pulled back to her work.

Backing towards the door, he smiled at her as he paused in the doorway, deciding to let her know of his interested agreement with her unusual request, "It's Dave."

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Penelope sat down at Jethro's desk. Signing in on general access, she worked a few minutes before accessing her FBI emails, reading through them and filing or discarding them quickly. The phone beside her rang and checking the caller id on the office phone, she responded automatically, hitting the speaker button with one hand before going back to what she was doing, "Talk dirty to me." Her chipper voice brought the people surrounding her to a brief standstill.

"Hello, baby girl. We need to talk." Morgan's voice came to her over the air and Penelope grinned.

"Well, if all you want to do is talk, I charge by the half hour. PG or NC-17?" She did miss her honey bun.

"What are you doing in Washington, DC? I didn't think you were going to go out on a case while I was away, sweet pea?" Morgan's frustrated worry could be heard. With a covert motion, Dinozzo looked over the top of his computer, his confused eyes meeting those of McGee's before they tracked back to the red hair and flirty voice that was issuing from Gibbs' desk area.

With a feminine growl, she replied to Morgan's worry, "I'm in the heart of the NCIS, hot stuff. And I have the sexiest agent in the place providing my body personal protection 24/7. The only thing I'm worried about is that I might have to put my doctor on call in case I get heart palpitations." Penelope couldn't help but giggle.

"Penelope." Derek Morgan grumbled at her over the phone.

"Derek Morgan, pump your brakes. You are at home with your family. The only thing you need to worry about is facing my wrath if you do not talk your mother into baking me any of her sinful peanut butter cookies. Now, visit with your mother, your aunt, and your cousins. Leave me to hacking into the list of on board marines for four aircraft carriers." Penelope's voice carried an assuredness that Morgan knew he would just have to trust. Besides, the rest of his team was there to back her up. He would just have to trust all of them to take care of the sister to his heart while he was away.

"They're letting you do that? Hack into their files?" He grinned as he asked the question.

"Oh, Chocolate Thunder, that's so amusing. The idea that anyone 'lets' me do something." Finishing up her quick conversation with him with the admonition for him to call her later tonight so she could talk more, "Now, I must run, there are firewalls to break, HIPPA laws to work around, and new victims for Photoshop that I've just met." With a rapid movement, she hung up off speaker phone. Standing up, she took her cell phone and looked over at Tony Dinozzo where he was working at his desk, quickly taking a picture of him as he tried to jerk his eyes away from his stare towards where she was sitting. As McGee starting laughing, she took a picture of him as well before sitting back down with the muttered statement, "this is going to be fun."

With a worried look between them, Dinozzo and McGee returned to their computers, trying not to think about what she could do on Photoshop.

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"McGoo. McSqueaker. Do you hear me? Hey, I'm talking to you." Wadding up a piece of paper, Tony threw it towards McGee's desk. Gibbs' girlfriend and her team had headed to MTAC earlier to speak with their own FBI director. Gibbs had gone to speak with Abby and it was just him, Ziva, and McGee sitting at their desks for now.

Smiling, Ziva said, "I believe he is blowing you, Tony."

Both men froze as the implication of what Ziva said washed over them. With a quick reply, Tony clarified Ziva's misinterpretation of the idiom. "Blowing me off, Ziva." Pausing again, Tony decided that there was no good way of wording that phrase right now, "You know, that doesn't even sound right. Let's change the subject." Turning back to Tim, he went back to his earlier harassment of his co-worker, "McProbie, are you still trying to ignore me?"

"Yes, Tony, I am. But, I've found that it's impossible for anyone to ignore you." Tim stopped what he was doing and turned to face Tony.

Throwing his hands over his head, Tony went to his knees, not noticing the elevator opening to the side and one of the FBI agents walking out and up behind the desks. "It's alive!" Shaking his hands and looking to the skylight, Tony continued his improvisation, "It's alive!" Smiling, he explained to his two co-workers, "Classic Frankenstein. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, who is the scientist, not the creature, makes a monster out of dead body parts. I wonder why it reminds me of you, McZombie?" Grinning at his own joke, he froze as an unknown voice came from behind him.

"Actually, Dr. Frankenstein says 'He's alive!'. The key word being 'he' because for Victor Frankenstein, he has created a living person out of body parts." Dr. Spencer Reid couldn't help but correct this misinterpretation. It was one that everyone made.

Ziva David and Tim McGee both froze. Tony did not take correction well. Especially if it was a challenge about a movie he liked.

"Really." Drawing out the word as he stood up, Tony pointed to Tim with one arm, "Check it out, McGoogle!" The pen was quiet as they waited on the clicking from McGee's keyboard.

"Well, he's right, Tony. The phrase is 'He's alive'." Tim couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at someone pointing out an error in Tony's film quoting.

"I don't believe it. I demand a recheck. No. I demand a rematch." Stepping back so he could see the thin blonde male agent behind him, Tony continued, "McMovieGuide, name a movie. Something with a line everyone will know."

"The Empire Strikes Back." McGee couldn't help it. It was the first movie he thought about with a famous line. He didn't have to wait long on Tony's good natured ribbing.

"Priceless, McGeek. I should have expected the sci-fi aspect. But, I will rise and answer your challenge." Taking a pose with one arm outstretched in front of him, Tony continued with a falsely deep voice, "'Luke, I am your father.'"

Spencer's voice came again, the certainty in it giving Dinozzo cause for concern, "If you're talking about what James Earl Jones dubbed over what was actually spoken, then he said, 'No. I am your father.' But what the original actor actually said to save the secret twist from all the cast was, 'Obi Wan killed your father.'"

Tony looked at the wiry man with amazement. Making a fast decision, he waved his arm at McGee, "No, don't look it up. I declare movie night at the Dinozzo household. McDVD, you will bring the pizza. Ziva, you're in charge of drinks. Commence operation Star Wars."

"I'm game." Ziva stood up and reached for her coat, "Let's go make the town dead!"

McGee met her at her desk, actually looking forward to the plan, "Paint the town red, Ziva."

With a derogatory look, Ziva frowned as she answered McGee, "Now I know you are kidding me. Why would you paint a whole town red? That makes no sense." She and Tim argued on the way to the elevator as Tony finished putting on his jacket and closing down his computer.

Rounding his desk, Tony threw an arm around the FBI agent who was still standing confusedly by his desk. "And you, my young Jedi, will accompany me while we go and wait for everyone to arrive. To quote Casablanca, " I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.""

Unable to stop himself, Spenser spoke, "Well, actually, Bogart says…"

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**A/N**: I was not thinking that this would take this long. But, it kept growing. I wanted to try and capture all the reasons for missing team members. Plus, introduce some relationships I might want to explore at later dates.

I'm hoping I captured a little bit of everyone's unique characteristics. Which is probably what took this chapter so long. Switching from different viewpoints to write conversations gets confusing. : )

Be sure and let me know what you think. Read and Review!

Hope you continue to enjoy! KK


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Okay, it's getting towards the end of my story. I'm so glad so many people have reviewed and commented on the story. I love to hear them! Especially if you can point out something you think was done well. Even constructive criticism is welcomed to a degree.

Please keep in mind that I am NOT a computer programmer, nor have I ever worked on a Marine or Navy vessel. So, all errors in that department are mine. Bearing that in mind, I hope you all continue to enjoy the story! KK

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Penelope had made sure to wear a pair of khaki jeans today with a plain - for her -multicolored pink, green, and blue top. She usually favored dresses but seeing how she would be crawling up and down ladders and through hallways, she had found that leaving her skirts and dresses behind had been the ideal choice for this visit. Except for the one dress she had brought to wear for the ceremony later.

The helo ride out to the Cabot had been interesting. Well, interesting may not have quite been the word. Between the shakiness of the trip and Jethro keeping her cuddled close as he napped, she had been very fluttery in her mind. Was 'fluttery' even a word? Trying to settle her thoughts she recalled the plan they had come up with back at NCIS. Agent David had not seemed bothered by the trip on the helicopter, but McGee had seemed as shaken as she had been by the unsteady ride. Which had reassured her.

Letting her eyes drift over to where David Rossi was sitting leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed, she remembered the conversation right before they had left. Staring down at her neon green shoes with the pink jewels on them, she smiled.

********************* _(flashback)_ ************************

She had brought only one bag. Of course, she had hidden her smallest laptop, three usb drives and one small external drive in her bag. She felt slightly naked without her ever present computers. But, McGee and David were supposed to be the 'computer' experts. So, that left her nothing but to dance her way around the ship with Jethro. He had stepped away to have a quick word with McGee and David. Agent Rossi had come to stand by her with his hands pressed into his pockets and he kept giving her quick glances from time to time.

"Garcia." Rossi grumbled, before giving a brief cough and continuing as she looked up at him. "I know you don't come out into the field with us often and when you do, usually Agent Morgan is with us."

"Yes, Sir." Penelope didn't know what else to say as he didn't seem to be asking a question so she just waited for him to continue.

Agent Rossi turned to face her, starting to reach out to touch her arm but drawing back before completing the action. "If you need me, or feel uncomfortable, or-" his words cut off before beginning again, "What I'm trying to say is, you're a part of our team whether you're at the office or in the field. And you can come to me for anything you need as easily as you might ask Morgan." Agent Rossi finally carried out his original action of taking her hand but instead of just shaking it in greeting, he raised it to his lips and pressed a warm and breathy kiss upon her knuckles.

Penelope's voice cracked the first time she tried to speak, her heart beating faster in her chest at his action, slowly processing his words. "I will, Sir."

Her eyes followed him as he released her and strode over to speak with the pilot standing by the helicopter that was to be their ride. Penelope watched him with dark eyes as she clasped her hands together, rubbing her thumb softly back and forth over the knuckles Rossi had kissed.

********************* _(flashback)_ ************************

Dropping her bag on the bed in the small cabin they had been assigned, Penelope looked around the small compartment. They had two days and two nights to find out who the UnSub was on this ship. Forty-eight hours. Penelope took a deep breath and proceeded to step outside and 'lose' herself towards the Control compartments and see who else was around.

Minutes later Jethro was pulling her into his arms and into the tight doorway of a cabin as they waited for an Officer and two enlisted men to walk past them in the hallway. Jethro's voice whispered near her ear. "Find anything, Red?"

Penelope smiled as she leaned into Jethro, "Nothing down here. I have found a very interesting MMORG that is super popular with some of the crew."

"A what?" Jethro released her and they eased back into the hallway to walk.

"An online role playing game, Ace." Penelope moved around the ladder and waited for Jethro to catch back up with her.

"Well, McGee will enjoy that." Following behind Penelope he added as they paused in the hallway again, "McGee and David have started the program reviews and crew interviews. I'll have to sit in on the officer interviews when they are scheduled."

"I've gotten 'lost' once already, Jethro. I can probably only play that ruse about 2 more times." Penelope leaned up to lace her fingers around Jethro's neck as some enlisted came by where they were standing and raised up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek. She had found it easy to fall right back into the flirting she had enjoyed so long ago with her Silver Ace. But, now, her body was reacting with a lot more attention to those casual touches. As Jethro turned his head back to speak to her, her lips were pressed to his briefly. Pulling slowly away, she raised her eyes to meet his before smiling and patting his cheek. "Ah-ah, Jethro. No distracting me. You were going to show me the deck today."

Watching as she started in the wrong direction, Jethro slowly licked his lips, tasting the remnants of Penelope's strawberry Chap Stick. Stepping after her, he caught her hand and tugged her to face him. Pointing down the ladder they were standing by, he grinned at her as she muttered about the confusion of having to go down a level so she can just go up to the deck further down the ship.

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Penelope was sitting on the bed with one of the usb drives that she had brought with her. Finishing up working on her program for McGee, she removed the drive as Jethro stepped inside.

With a grin, she asked, "All the kiddos tucked in appropriately?"

"Bed check complete." Jethro leaned back against the door. "You did good tonight, Red." He thought back over the Captain's luncheon they had been invited to where Penelope had enchanted the Captain with her questions and enthusiasm over the ship. He had been able to move around and watch the officers present. In a side glance, he had watched as Agent Rossi had done the same thing, wondering what impressions he was gaining and if they mirrored his. The man they were looking for was somewhere in this room. Bringing his thoughts back to the present, he asked Penelope, "Shower time?"

"Hell, yeah!" Standing up, she grabbed her towel and nightwear. "You can't expect me to keep this Dodge Challenger running smooth and looking pretty without upkeep?"

Stepping back into the hall, he led the way to the head. Checking inside quickly to be sure it was empty, he stood in the door. "Be quick, Red, and I'll make sure no one else comes in."

"You know, Jethro, I'm a take risks kinda gal, but, this is a little more public and communal than I was anticipating." Setting her items down on the bench before one of the shower stalls she turned to face where Jethro was standing in the doorway.

Moving so that his back was to the room and he was facing the hall, Gibbs leaned one shoulder against the doorframe. "Penelope, I told you I would take care of you. Take a shower in peace, I'll keep watch." His voice had a growl in it that Jethro couldn't quite get out of his words. The thought of her undressing just five feet from him was affecting him. Years ago, having her take a shower in his house or walking around in his house in her daisy dukes hadn't bothered him. Now, thinking back to some of the times they had shared, his memory drew up an amazingly accurate image of how she had looked one night, sitting on his steps in a flimsy nightshirt and shorts, watching him as he had worked on his boat. At the time, he had been thankful for the friendly company, now he was fighting his growing arousal at the memory. He had mentioned that she would need to bring something she could wear as she walked through the halls from the head. He hoped to hell she had. Sliding a hand down, he glanced up and down the hall before discreetly adjusting himself.

Penelope turned to look at the small shower stall. Undressing briskly and clipping her hair on top of her head, she stepped into the stall. Wetting down she soaped up, sliding wet hands over her skin. With a furtive glance over her shoulder, she came to the conclusion that there was no way she could take care of her honey pot the way she usually did in the shower. There would be no time to take care of it later either, not snuggled up to against the completely male form of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Sighing with frustration, Penelope gingerly finished washing up as her nipples hardened and her skin turned sensitive and hot. Damn Jethro and his magnetism. Years ago she wasn't ready to get involved with anyone, not for a relationship or even for a brief fling. Now, here she was, standing naked not five feet from the marine she had a past lengthy history of heavy flirting with. She had seen him walking around his house in boxers and a grey t-shirt in the early morning hours. Neither of they had felt the need back then to act on the intense banter.

With a sigh, Penelope turned back to finishing her shower, rinsing and drying off. Dressing quickly in her button up sleep shirt, she put on her well worn and thin sweatpants. She folded her old clothes and set them with her towel. Calling out to Jethro she took her brush, released her clip in her hair, and raised her arms to brush out her hair. Unaware that she was showing off a stretch of bare skin around her midriff, "Okay, Ace, all done. Give me a minute-" Words stuttered to a stop as she looked down to where Jethro had silently placed his hand on her midriff. "Jethro?"

Jethro didn't even remember how he got next to his friend. He remembered turning around with a smile, feeling relaxed for once that day as his thoughts had been off the investigation for the few minutes he had stood there. But, his whole body had tightened up as he had turned around. He remembered letting his eyes drift over her standing there in what looked to be soft cotton sweats and a shirt, red hair falling down and brushing her neck, her cheery voice floating to him. Letting his eyes follow the trail of buttons on her shirt down, lower and lower to that glimpse of that bare and flushed skin of her stomach, his excitement was rising. Until he saw a scar he recognized. One that graced his own skin. One that should never have adorned hers.

Jethro sat down on the bench by her folded clothing and drew Penelope between his knees. Holding her gaze as she slowly lowered her arms, he unbuttoned the two lower buttons of her shirt. He could hear her gasp of breath as he pulled the bottom edges of her shirt apart. Still holding one side of her shirt, he took his other hand and gently rubbed his fingertips over the small area of scar tissue present. "Tell me who, Penelope." Though his fingers were gentle, his voice and tone were severe.

"He's gone, Jethro. Dead and gone." Her scar. Kevin had seen her scar. After he had gotten used to it. Well, and she had gotten past her own insecurity. Sex had been fine. After a while, there had been no more awkward pauses when fingers had accidently brushed over it. No more reluctance to being seen in the nude. But, she had been, and still was, always aware of that place. It was there. Always. "My team took care of it. They took care of me. I'm safe, Jethro." Penelope let herself raise one hand to cup the back of his head.

Jethro pressed a kiss to her scar before twisting and pressing his cheek to her stomach. Both her hands came up to lie on his head, one cupping his neck, the other spearing fingers through his silver hair before coming to rest. His next words were growled, "Shouldn't have happened, Red."

Penelope could feel all her admonishments to herself about not letting her attraction to Jethro get out of control leave her body in one hard exhale. She was sheltered between his legs, his hands were on her hips and he was pressed close to her. She could feel every breath that left his body as it whispered out over the sensitive skin of her stomach. That had not been her plan on the way down here. She had only come to help her friend. This, this was bringing their friendship to a whole new level if they proceeded. And she did not want to lose what they had.

Feeling Jethro pull away from her, she looked down and watched as he leaned forward to press a kiss to her belly, right over her scar. And suddenly it burned, fire running unchecked through her as she met his blue eyes. Never had she believed that her scar could be an erogenous zone but as Jethro parted his lips to slowly flick his tongue along the scar, she moaned and clutched his head closer. Neither looked away as they slowly moved closer.

Only to be interrupted by a brief but loud cough from the doorway. Both of them froze. Jerking her head up, she could see the outline of someone standing just outside the doorway. Jethro abruptly stood up and Penelope took a few steps back to give him room. With quick motions, Jethro fastened the buttons of her shirt back together. A request came from the doorway, "Permission to enter, Gunnery Sergeant?!" Penelope grabbed her extra clothing and Jethro led her from the room giving a nod to the man at the doorway.

"Permission granted." Jethro forced his voice to be firm as he and Penelope left the head and began the trip back to their quarters. Along the way, he thought of anything he could accept the scene in the bathroom he had just left. He wasn't ready to progress this far with Penelope. Reaching their berth, he ushered her inside and shut the door behind them. Facing the door as he heard her move around the room, he took a deep breath. "Penelope-"

"Oh, God, Jethro. Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not ready for where this might go. Not tonight." Penelope had always hated the way she reverted to babbling when she felt out of sorts but even knowing this, she couldn't put a halt on her tongue, "Well, that's not quite correct. My body is ready, willing, and very, very, able at this moment. In fact, this race car hasn't been this wound up for a long time. I mean, really, I can't believe just one kiss is causing me to react this way. How am I supposed to sleep next to you with you curled up around me without wanting your hands to be all over me? I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it, Jethro. My whole body is tight, my nipples are about to put permanent dents in my shirt and we're not even going to talk about the condition of my-"

"Penelope! Stop!" Jethro moved from his controlled stance next to the door. With quick moments he strode to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. Releasing her, he placed a finger against her lips to quiet her as she opened her mouth again, not sure what she was going to say, only knowing that, "You're killing me here." Waiting till she had settled back and closed her lips underneath his finger, he slowly pulled it away. "It's fine. We're fine."

Smiling, he looked down at her, "I'm going to go up on deck for a bit. Cool off. Then go take a shower. I'll be back in an hour if you're already asleep." He kissed the top of her head as Penelope threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Walking to the door after she released him, he paused briefly. "Sweet dreams, Red." Stepping outside, he shut the door behind him, nodding to the enlisted men stationed at the end of the hall. With quick steps he made his way to the deck, hoping that a brief trip in the fresh air would help calm his singing nerves and pumping blood.

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Walking along the passageway with Jethro, Penelope grimaced at the smell of cleaning fluid. That was the one thing she had noticed. There was no getting away from your neighbors. And you had to be really lenient about what you used to clean with or if you used scents of any kind. They didn't go anywhere. Somewhere on this deck someone was cleaning.

Thank goodness she and Jethro were as close as they were. By the time Jethro had returned, she had already begun to doze off. She had followed his advice and wore clothing she could sleep in once he explained about ship procedures. When he slipped in bed behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist, she had finished relaxing and drifted off to sleep. Waking up the next morning hadn't been a problem. Especially since both of them had been pretty out of it before their first cup of coffee. And she hadn't actually woken up till her second cup. By then, Jethro had returned from the head, kissed her cheek and headed up to control to call his agent back at NCIS. She had dressed and proceeded to get 'lost'.

Jethro smiled as he saw an enlisted man escorting Penelope his way. Waiting, he watched as she proceeded to enchant and confuse the man. It was a sight to behold. Thanking the crewman for his help, she winked up at Jethro as they headed to lunch. Stopping briefly, she asked, "Has your team found anything?"

"Nope. McGee loved your idea and said thanks for the program." Jethro waited till a crew member passed before continuing. "He and Ziva have narrowed down our suspects here."

Penelope leaned against Jethro for a moment to share, "Agent Rossi says Reid and your Agent Dinozzo have been working together and have most of the suspects interviewed. Reid is also working with Ms. Sciuto when he can. They are trying to create a situational map to narrow down the area that our suspects are working from for accidents that occurred on land."

"This ship docks tonight. If we don't have this solved before tomorrow morning-" Frustration laced his voice.

"I gave McGee my back door program and he's going to insert through the game that most of the crew is playing. If he gets it done, in two hours we'll be able to back track these sick chickees and you can fry them, Jethro."

"How does a back door through some kind of role playing game help the Elf Lord track our bag guys through a Navy program?" Jethro raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

Penelope pulled on his arm and they began walking again. "Oh, Ace, don't pull that innocent confused look on me. You understand campaigns. Just because the terminology is a little different doesn't mean you don't understand the subterfuge behind what me and McGee are having to do."

Jethro chuckled and ducked inside the mess hall, letting the conversation change as they entered.

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Later that night, they headed for the deck. Speaking quietly as they went, Penelope asked, "Where are McGee and David?"

"They are working late. McGee thinks it might be one of the men coming on the night shift since there is less active crew at night." Jethro's frown as he paced forward.

Noises from behind them caused them to turn around. Suddenly a gunshot rang out and Jethro took off running as they could hear a shout and loud cursing. Penelope ran behind him, unable to actually keep up but trailing behind. Coming to a halt in the doorway behind Gibbs, she couldn't see much.

"David, report!" Gibbs holstered his weapon as he stepped inside.

"McGee is down. Our trap worked to well, Gibbs. He figured it out before I could get into position." Ziva paused as ship's medic pushed past her to get to McGee before continuing, "I believe he knocked McGee out. I took a shot as he left the room. I hit him but it may have only been a graze."

Jethro kneeled down where David was sitting beside McGee. "David, you've been hurt."

"No, Sir!" Pushing her way to her feet, Ziva protested. "He pushed me into the wall as he came past and my arm has been damaged, but I am fine, Gibbs."

"Is it your shooting arm, David?" Jethro stood back as the medic had McGee lifted and carried from the room.

Keeping her stance, Ziva replied, "No, Sir!"

"Then you stay with him." Stopping the protest he could see forming on her lips, Gibbs continued his order, "Don't argue, David. We don't know where our suspect is or if he has a partner on this ship. You will keep McGee in your sight the entire time he's here till he is disembarked and in NCIS hands. Don't let anything happen to him."

Turning to look around, he saw Penelope over by the controls. She was frantically trying to call up control to see what had happened. "Jethro, this room has been locked out of control. I can't unlock it from here. You need to get me to the Tower, now!" Penelope's voice was firm. Looking up, she met Jethro's look.

With a nod, Jethro turned to the side of the room and took the phone there. Calling the bridge, he requested a call to General Quarters for all personnel and informed the Captain of his and Penelope's route they would take to the Bridge. In the background he could here swearing of crew as they discovered the breadth of the problem their suspect had caused. Hanging up, he turned to Penelope and ordered her to stay behind him at all times.

Arriving at the Bridge, Penelope was relieved to discover Agent Rossi was already there. Heading for the spot that she had discovered the crew member playing the role playing game on his console, she waited as Jethro intimidated the crewman to step from his position so she could slide into his seat. Chattering to herself as she began working, she tuned out Jethro's argument with the Captain about her taking over the console. Agent Rossi moved up on her other side quietly and waited for her attention to come up from what she was doing long enough to ask, "Garcia, where is he? Can you pinpoint him?"

"Just wait a moment, Sir. I have to get into this monster. Come on Timmy, show me where you put my program. Come on, Lassie, show me all those fabulous tricks you have." Penelope didn't even glance over her shoulder as she brought up the online game and on the third try, her code entry brought up the set up and she was able to enter the system. "Ladies and Gentleman, your Herald of Unfettered Knowledge has arrived. Speak and be answered."

Both Captain and Gibbs turned to circle around where Penelope was sitting. The Captain was first and loudest. "What is going on with my ship?!"

"Well, Captain, O' Captain, your suspect crewman has locked your systems down. We are still on course, but all control has been routed elsewhere and your people have been booted from the system. I'm seeing what I have access to right now, as soon as I have something, I will let you know." Swearing under his breath, the Captain gripped the top of her console that he was standing behind.

Jethro leaned over her shoulder, opposite of Rossi, "We have roughly 3000 men on board this ship and hundreds of families waiting for them to disembark on shore tonight. If he has control of weapons, all those people are in danger, as well as our crew on board here. We need to find out who this bastard is, now!"

"I can't tell you who he is yet, Jethro. But, I can tell you where he's heading."

At her words, Rossi leaned in over her other shoulder, "Tell me, Penelope. I'll go."

Jethro reared back in protest, but Rossi continued, "I'm a negotiator. If he's taken or takes hostages, I'm your best bet."

Pulling up a schematic of the ship on her screen, she pointed out the only other area that would have access to the systems she was trying to hack into, "Here, Sir. Whoever it is has to get there if they are going to try to keep me from the system."

"On my way." Checking his weapon as he quickly headed for the door, nodding to the crew man the captain assigned to follow with him, Rossi strode from the room. He paused at Jethro's call. Turning, he caught the two way radio Gibbs tossed him.

"Keep this, Sarge. And, be careful." Gibbs' gave the warning, knowing in a way it wasn't needed. He and Rossi had sized each other up earlier and neither had found the other lacking.

Grinning, Rossi took the radio and replied, "Not my first time on a ship, Gunney." Nodding at Penelope, he added, "Keep her safe."

"If you boys are through playing Call of Duty, could you please focus on catching this UnSub before he locks me from the access I have?" Penelope's derisive voice echoed throughout the bridge and even the Captain hid a tense smile as they turned their heads away briefly.

Jethro looked back down at Penelope and grinned, "Yes, Ma'am. What can we do to help?"

Penelope had yet to raise her head from her screens as she fell back into her work, "Oh, think you're smart do you? Clever, clever, putting a worm in, but, you know what they say about early birds and I haven't even had been to bed yet, you freak." Rapid typing echoed through the room along with the murmur of other crewman voices, other computer sounds, and the quietly intense discussion between Jethro and the Captain. "Ah ha! There, you," pointing at the woman sitting across from her, she went on, "yes, you, you have communications back!" Returning to her work as Jethro and the Captain moved to the other station and immediately began giving commands on who to contact, Penelope continued her online assault.

Minutes went by, the occasional check in from Rossi coming over the two way radio helped to calm Penelope's nerves. It wasn't till Jethro noticed Penelope's silence that he knew something was wrong. "What's up, Red?"

"I can do one of two things," Penelope paused with her hands on the keyboard, "I can go ahead and shut down the weapons systems completely or, if I'm given more time, I might be able to return control of the systems to the ship." The Captain had come to stand in front of her while she was speaking, but it was to Jethro she added, "If I override the weapons system, it will completely shutdown electricity and lock down this section." She pointed out the area Rossi had been headed to.

Even as the Captain started to speak, Jethro overrode him, striding to stand by Penelope with a hand on her shoulder, "Shut 'em down, Red."

"Are you ordering her to completely shut down our weapons system, Gunnery Sergeant?! On my ship?!" The Captain's furious voice sounded only to be interrupted by Gibbs.

"We are in our own waters and headed towards I don't know how many men, women, and children waiting for their loved ones. Are you saying we need weapons active, Captain?" Gibbs' piercing blue eyes were locked on the Captains' until the Captain looked away.

Giving his agreement only with a nod, the Captain added, "Can we warn my men?"

Jethro shook his head, "We'll warn our suspect of what we're doing as well. You can't make an all call, Captain."

"Rossi?" Penelope had picked up the two way radio while neither of the men had been looking. She whispered into the one she held, "Rossi, I have to shut down that section. Come back."

"Garcia, shut it down. I'm close and I'm not letting him go." Rossi's voice rumbled back to her.

"But-"

"Penelope, shut this UnSub's access down." Rossi could be heard moving around before his voice came back again, "I'll be fine. It's time to show this bastard that we have claws! Do it, Kitten." The finality of his voice echoed in the room as Rossi cut off communication on his side.

Taking a breath, Penelope began typing, "You sicko, you don't know what's coming after you. Let's see how you like having no control." With a few more motions, she let out a triumphant sound. "Just ruins your whole day when your systems go down, doesn't it. " A few more definite movements and Penelope's voice rang out to Jethro and the Captain, "Weapons inoperative."

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Finally the Cabot had docked. Rossi had ended up in a shootout with the UnSub in a darkened control room when the suspect had realized that his plan had been ended. Choosing death by cop instead of imprisonment, there was no talking him down, only trying to keep him from taking anyone else with him. Rossi had been referred to the Hospital level alongside McGee due to the lack of air he had dealt with and the physical struggle.

Penelope was still up on the Bridge alongside the Captain, Jethro, and their best IT officer working on digging every piece of program the UnSub had inserted from the system and running tests to assure that the system was clean. Creative cursing could occasionally be heard from where she was sitting and only the fact that Rossi had retained the two way radio and she could check in on him and McGee in sickbay was the only thing keeping her calm at the moment. The conversation from the threesome was often hilarious to listen to and brought some genuine smiles to many in the control room after the tension that had been present earlier.

/click/Have you tried routing back through the communications since you have access to that section?/click/

"Tim, you are talking to the Head of the Office of Supreme Genius, do you think I haven't tried that? Every time I make a move past Communications, it puts me on a chase and I'm looking right back to the door I built into this frakking piece of equipment." Penelope banged her hand down on the console beside her keyboard in frustration. "Two tears in a bucket!"

Rossi's voice could be heard lowly in the background, complaining about the order that had him remaining in bed.

"Rossi, if you don't stay in that bed, I'm telling Hotch that you've volunteered to deliver all the reports personally to Section Chief Strauss for him." Penelope's voice sounded affectionately evil as she delivered her warning over the two way radio.

/click/Penelope, I can't stay in this bed. I'm fine and I'm getting up./click/

Though Rossi's voice came through as an order, Penelope's voice was sickeningly sweet as she replied, "Well, you've reached the Office of Too Freaking Bad. I heard the doctor say you were passed out when they found you. You are staying in that bed and you're going to offload with McGee when we dock along with the other personnel. You can tell your story to our Fearless Leader and see what he says, Super Sexy Agent Rossi."

Before the argument between the two team mates could escalate, McGee broke in with a comment, /click/You said he entered the program with a worm? What about a self replicating virus?/click/

"What would a virus be able-" Penelope froze for a moment, "Brilliant! Oh, Timmy boy, I see where you're going with that, if we attach it to the worm our UnSub used, it should follow it back into the system. I'm out!"

Finally docking at 11pm, all crewmen waited as first the dead UnSub was transported off, then McGee and Rossi with Ziva David as their escort until they returned to NCIS headquarters and Ducky had a chance to look over both of them. The rest of non-required personnel and those not working out duty assignments disembarked. Penelope stayed on board working to finish up the checks and re-checks of the systems before Jethro finally made her leave the Bridge and they slowly walked back to their compartment.

Taking a trip to the deck first to breathe some fresh air, Jethro stood close beside her, "You know, you could have got off when you co-worker left earlier."

"No. I needed to finish what I started. You have good people here Jethro," with a sideways look and a smile, she added with complete confidence, "but, I'm better." Walking a little always so she could still see where some crewmen were being met by their families as they debarked, "Like you said, Ace. These are our men, women, and children. These are our families." Taking a breath, she finally let her tension seep from her muscles as she loosely shook out her hands, "I had to be sure."

In an earlier call made to NCIS once Penelope's back traces had completed, they had found the widow of a former Flight Officer behind the accidents being caused on base. Dinozzo had answered the phone call from Jethro in route with Hotchner, Reid, and an NCIS team to apprehend the widow. Reid was going into lengthy rhetoric over the first time occurrence of two co-dependent people, the widow on shore and the brother-in-arms at sea bonding together at the death of the center of their triad, the narcissistic husband and crewman that had passed away after an accident had entailed his forced retirement. With a shouted "We're on it already, Boss!" Dinozzo had hung up on Jethro. They had found out shortly later from Director Vance that the widow had been apprehended successfully and had given a full confession.

Jethro moved up behind Penelope. "You did good, Red." Placing a hand at her back, he started to lead her back to their berth. "Now, let's get some sleep before that ridiculous award ceremony tomorrow."

Penelope sighed quietly. Her brain was churning over everything that could have gone wrong today and over the past few hours. She didn't think her thoughts could be stopped. It was like everything was replaying in her head, if she could have worked harder or faster. Come up with answers quicker. She could actually feel her fingertips tapping out answers on her leg as she walked, thinking of how to change or update her codes. She only stopped when going down the ladder to get to their quarters and started again as they eased down the hall.

Jethro watched as Penelope gathered a towel and her sleepwear in a small tote with her shower gel. Throwing his own towel over his shoulder, he grabbed a t-shirt and sweats. Opening the door, he led the way past the one enlisted man at the end of the hall and headed for the bathroom. Jethro stopped outside the room, turning to wait outside for Penelope to finish. With a huff of air, she called to him.

"Ace, call one of the guys to come watch the door for me and get in here. I know you've been up as long as I have, if not longer. Get in here so we can both go to bed." She grinned as she realized the way that sounded. Tonight, she would almost be willing to beg him to get that proud handsome man in her bed for all the wrong reasons. Ah well, she probably missed her chance at it yesterday evening. Stepping into the stall, she started to undress as she heard Jethro step into the room. Having slipped pulled her top shirt over her head, she threw it out on the bench and leaned just her head out. "Come on, Jethro. I don't bite." Scrunching her nose up at him playfully, she added, "Unless you're into that."

Watching as Penelope pulled her head back behind the curtain, he grunted as he watched a bra come out of the enclosure and fall with a blast of deep peach color over the shirt lying in front of him. She was definitely going to kill him. First last night and now tonight. How was he supposed to be calm while knowing she was entirely naked one wall away from him? Back in the past, he could have done it with no problem. But, somewhere along the way, maybe with the long absence from each other, his perception of her as someone needing to be protected – well, it had changed. The woman she was today, while still needing protection, was not emotionally bare the way she had been back then. Listening to her move around in the stall, he placed his clothing on the bench next to hers. This way if someone did make a mistake and step inside, he would still be between her and the door. "What if I bite, Red?" His voice was a pleasant rumble as he moved to step into the stall.

"Then where do I sign up, Ace?" Her quick rejoinder echoed from her stall, as well as her giggle.

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A/N: Everyone still enjoying the story with me? I feel lemons coming for the next chapter. So, if you're not into that, please don't read any further.

Let me know if reactions from the characters still sound true to their nature. Please read and review as you're the ones that let me know if the scenes are believable, interesting, and stay true to the original characters.

Hope you keep enjoying! KK

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	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Lemons all through this chapter, so please skip if it will bother you as the case is solved! LOL!

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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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Penelope leaned her back to the wall as she listened to the sounds of Jethro undressing next to her. Oh, Sweet Mother Hubbard, knowing he was in the room and just a few steps away was doing nothing for that core of pressure inside her body. The one pressing right around her groin that was making her unconsciously roll her hips back against the wall as she listened to Jethro. She slowly rinsed off the soap lathered up over her skin, sliding her hands over her skin and down her stomach. Running them back up, they dragged over her breasts where her nipples were already hard. And that felt – really good.

She wondered if she had time. Her body was already primed. Especially with all the flirting and smooth touches and hugs her and her silver Ace had shared this past week. Hell, they had been flirting for years. As far as foreplay was concerned, she was more than prepped for an earth shattering orgasm. Just a small one would help now though. If she was quiet, and quick, maybe she could take just the edge off till she got home.

Giving in to the need, she closed her eyes, and tilted her head back as she slid one hand slowly down between her legs. Honestly, how could she be so wet, so quickly? Soon, she was moving both hands by running her other hand up till she could catch her nipple between her thumb and forefinger. Penelope had to bite her lip to rein in the little bit of noise she made as she rolled the hard tip before pinching it and moving to the other one.

Next to her, Jethro took a deep breath as he heard a slight noise from the stall beside him. Was she? Leaning his head out to ask if she was okay, he paused at the slight noise and the breathy short gasps he could hear. Rapidly pulling his head back, he braced his arm on the wall and squeezed his eyes shut. The knowledge came to him that Penelope was fine. More than fine if he interpreted correctly. But that knowledge didn't block out the mental image that came to him. She would be standing there, rinsing off suds, pushing her hands through soapy water as it ran down her body. She would look like a goddess. One from those images his high school art teacher was always trying to get him and the other students in class interested in. Unfortunately for his teacher, he and his male classmates were only interested in the nudes. And the woman right next to him embodied every image he remembers from those days. And just like that, any control he had over his body was lost.

The sound of water on tile was loud in her ears as she tried to keep quiet. Penelope could feel her body coiling tighter and tighter. She just needed a little more. She needed this, needed some kind of release. Unfortunately, not the one she had been thinking of the past few days, but this would help. As her hand stroked furiously between her thighs, she tightened the pressure between her middle finger and thumb on her nipples before pinching and then stroking the very tip with her index finger. Right as she did so, Jethro's image flashed before her eyes and that was all it took. Her head flung back as her eyes squeezed completely shut and she came hard upon her fingers. Sliding into the corner of the shower, Penelope leaned her head back against the damp wall behind her as she braced herself loosely. Damn, she had needed that.

Finally standing up straight, she finished washing down. Taking a deep breath, she slid the curtain back and called to Jethro, "I'm getting dressed out here." She couldn't even think of a witty saying to add on to that. Her brain was still buzzing, but at least some of the tension had let her body go. Getting dressed in her nightshirt and cotton sweats, she brought her hair down, feeling a quick zing of renewed pleasure remembering Jethro's lips pressed to her skin. Moving to the door, she waited for him.

Jethro lifted his head at hearing her voice. Looking down, he came to the conclusion that there no time to take care of things the way he would prefer. With a grimace, he knocked his close fist against the tile in front of his head before completely standing up. Resignation stiffened his shoulders as he turned the hot water down and stepped completely under the cool water, resolutely trying to think of many things other than the curvaceous body waiting for him outside this stall.

Hearing the shower cut off and the curtain rattle, Penelope turned just a bit. She was not going to miss the opportunity to catch a glimpse of her friend in the nude. Glancing back over her shoulder, she sucked in a breath at Jethro's lean form. He had his back to her, had dropped his towel, and had bent to pull on a pair of grey sweatpants. Her use of her lungs became suspended as she turned to fully appreciate the sight of sun-kissed skin moving over muscles. Eyes drifting up as he pulled up the pants, Penelope forced her breath out before gulping as Jethro pulled a grey t-shirt down over his head.

The sound of her heart pounding was the only thing she could hear for seconds as she whirled around to face back out into the hall. Placing a hand against her chest, she talked to herself for a minute- _breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out_. A snort from beside her had her glancing to the side to see the enlisted man beside her staring straight ahead. Forcing her hand down, she took one more deep breath before releasing it slowly. Just in time to jump at the feel of Jethro's hand spread against her back as he came up beside her.

"Ready, Red?" Jethro's voice breathed in her ear, causing her to shiver.

"You have no idea, Ace." Penelope smiled to take away the underlying meaning behind her words as she moved down the hallway.

Turning down their corridor, she glanced down and noticed a strand of tape bisecting the entire hallway. With the thought that she could ask Jethro, she paused in the doorway of their room to face him.

Looking up to find out why Penelope had stopped, Jethro smiled at her before noticing the oncoming officer personnel heading their way. With a rapid two step maneuver he moved forward and pressed up into the doorway against her to get out of the way as the officers passed by in the hallway, "Whoops, come 'ere."

Feeling her heart flutter with quick beats, Penelope joked, "Jethro, if you wanted to get close, all you had to do was ask."

Jethro closed his eyes as an image rushed over him. Especially as close as they were pressed together. Taking a breath and opening his eyes, he explained, "There's tape down the hallway. Means one side is clear to walk down while the other is being waxed." He cleared his throat roughly as he felt her curves pressed against him.

Penelope took a deep breath, abruptly stopping in a gasp as her breasts brushed inside her shirt and against his chest. "Oh."

What felt like minutes passed as the held each other's glance. The personnel turned at the end of the hallway and their corridor was clear once again. Neither one of them moved.

Slowly tilting her head back, Penelope felt her lips part as she looked into Jethro's bright blue eyes. She could sense movement from her side, but it wasn't worth looking to see what it was. For some reason, she wasn't surprised to feel Jethro's hand press into her waist as he moved closer. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage as he slipped the other one into her loose hair and brought their lips together. Much more gently than she expected. Thoughts seemed to flash through her mind as she felt herself sink into Jethro's hands. _Oh God! Was he? He was!_ He was leaning against her and she could feel him hot and like steel, pressing hard against her. His breath was warm as he breathed roughly against her lips. She was genuinely surprised at how gently she was being treated. Not that she didn't appreciate it. But it wasn't quite what she wanted right now.

She released a moan – _yep, going to call that a moan, a whine of displeasure would be too embarrassing at this moment, no matter how accurate_ – as Jethro moved back at the sound of more activity from the hallway. With movements that she would not be able to remember later, they made it inside the door which Gibbs shut behind them, leaning back against it once inside. His hands were around her waist and they stared at each other silently, both still breathing rapidly.

"Oh, hell, Jethro!" Stepping forward, Penelope pressed against him, hands drawing his lips down to meet hers. As he slanted his head to hers and pressed inside more aggressively, Penelope was in heaven. She licked Jethro's lips and moaned as his calloused fingers moved under her shirt to grip her hips. One hand slid down to cup her hip and he brought her in tight against him as he slipped his tongue between her lips.

Jethro delved inside, lost in the feel of soft, curving flesh beneath his hands. Heat that he had suppressed earlier roared to life inside him. He could feel Penelope's fingers massaging, burrowing through his short hair to reach and scratch roughly against his scalp. A low growl escaped him and with a fast roll he had Penelope pressed against the metal wall beside them. Jethro felt her hands, free now to wander, move down his neck and over his back. Her hips were rocking against his.

Pulling her lips away from Jethro's, Penelope begged, "Please tell me you a condom." She watched the quirk of Jethro's lips as he slowly slid his hands down her sides. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder as he hooked fingers into the waistband of her sweats. He went to the floor in one smooth unhurried motion, taking her pants and underwear with him.

With his eyes focusing on her, Jethro reached to the side and snagged his pants from where he and Penelope had dropped their clothing and towels earlier. Pulling his wallet from the pocket of his pants, he handed it up to her. Feeling her hand close around it, he curled his fingers into Penelope's calves and grinned.

"Always prepared, Jethro? Thank goodness. Isn't that like a rule or something?" Penelope spoke as she opened his wallet, searching for what they needed. With a cry of triumph, she dropped his wallet to the floor. Her cry changed into one of thready pleasure even as her hand closed around her prize.

Jethro had taken advantage of her concentration on her search and had leaned forward to lick through her slick curls. "Not one of mine. I'm going with number five," Jethro nipped at her thigh with a stinging bite. "You don't waste good." He went to dip back between her thighs when he felt Penelope's hand in his hair.

Answering the look of inquiry on his face as he gazed up at her, Penelope's voice was urgent as she curved over towards Jethro, "We've had acres of foreplay over the years. I need you now, Jethro." Dropping kisses on his face and throat as he stood up, she continued in a sexy throaty babble, "I ache with it. Can you die from want?" Reaching with hungry greed, she let her hand slip into his sweats, "I thought about you, when I touched myself in the shower-"

"God, Penelope," with long fingers he pushed his sweatpants down but couldn't complete the action. At the touch of Penelope's hand along his length, her stroking hard and firm, Jethro's hands slammed to the wall to each side of her head. The muscles in his arms stood out as they both watched as the she stroked back up him, her thumb sliding up and over the tip. Releasing him, she opened the packet and encased him before dropping the empty package to the floor so she could wrap her hands around his neck and kiss him.

Taking a step into her, Jethro turned his head, dragging a kiss along her jaw to that spot just below her ear – _and how the hell did he know about that spot?!_ – because suddenly Penelope was pushing her shoulders and back against the wall. Freeing one hand from its death grip on the wall, he cupped her thigh, wrapping it more firmly around his waist, opening her intimately to him. Penelope arched into him and his talented fingers as they stroked through her center, testing her readiness. At the wet and hot feel of her opening around his fingers, Jethro wrapped one strong arm behind her hips and curled fingers into the bottom cheek of her ass, causing a mewing intense sound from her. With one sharp lunge he sank into her. Penelope's head fell back against the wall as she struggled for breath.

Wrapping one arm around his shoulders, she sank frantic fingers into his back. Words tumbling out, "All I could think about in the shower was your smell, your shoulders, your hips, hell, your mouth. I wanted your hands on me, in me, just all over me." Her other leg joined her first, wrapped around Jethro's hips and she took him even deeper.

Unbidden, Jethro's head dropped onto Penelope's shoulder and he's grinding into her. Turning his head, he licked one long path back up her neck, causing her to shudder, before biting the arch of her collarbone that is exposed by the neck of her shirt. Pulling back, Jethro kept one hand braced on the wall, muscles still knotted with fervor. Harsh words came to her through her haze of passion, "Touch yourself, Red. I want to see you touch yourself." Arching back but keeping their connection, Jethro's eyes were raw with need as he looked down between them to where his shaft was impaled within her.

Panting, Penelope's other hand drifts down. Fingers stroking, she couldn't resist going lower and circling him where they are connected causing both of them to groan.

"Wanna see, Penelope." The growl was barely heard but the rumble was understood.

Penelope spread her fingers into a v-shape, parting her lower lips and revealing her aching clit. Closing her fingers, she began stroking, watching as Jethro's eyes focused hotly on her actions. Every movement caused her to tighten and release around him.

Jethro raised his head and pressed in hard. His eyes closed briefly before reopening, the feeling of her fingers still moving between them, pressed between them, causing his blue eyes to burn brighter. Taking his hand from the wall, he wrapped his fingers in her hair, brushing his thumb along her jaw line as he leaned his head forward till his lips were brushing her ear. "This," with a hard thrust, he continued, "is mine." Penelope's eyes flew open, melted chocolate meeting blue ice, each short, bitten off phrase enhanced by another hard deep lunge, "To touch. To take. To taste." The last word with its accompanying piercing slam sent her over the edge and his lips were locked to hers, drinking in her cries as she came apart in his arms. Waiting till Penelope's cries had stopped, he finally released her lips.

Penelope relaxed her grip on Jethro's back, sucking in gasps of air as she opened her eyes. "You're still," writhing a little in his grasp, she stopped for a second at the feeling of him lodged hard against her sensitive flesh, "hard."

"I said," Jethro took her loose fingers in one steady hand and brought them to his lips, sucking them in and rubbing across them with his tongue, gathering her taste from them before releasing them to interlock them with his own fingers and setting his hand back to the wall beside her head, holding her arm braced with his own, "you don't waste good."

Locking his other arm back around her thigh and under her hip, he began burrowing into her with hard force. Penelope moaned with the uncontrollable shivers as he parted trembling flesh, feeling an undeniable need rising from her center as Jethro just takes and takes, as hard as he can. Like he's never going to stop, like he can't stop. Her legs are quivering with their hold around Jethro's hips and she opens wider to him, begging for more. The sounds Jethro's making turns her shameless with need.

Shaking his head briefly, Jethro tried to clear it. He knows he's being rough, maybe too rough, but the way she's accepting him, taking him and suddenly – _Jesus H. Christ_ – she is shaking apart around him and it's just what his body needs as his back bows into her and his vision goes white and he's coming in hard jerks, buried so deep in her. It's perfect and this time he's the one meeting her lips as he releases an unnamable sound into her mouth, coming again, softer and shorter than the first spasmic release.

Shuddering to a stop, he locked both legs to keep them upright, fighting the lassitude that just wanted him to collapse. With slow motions, he unfurled the hand that was clenched in her thigh and the tight grip he had on her other hand, letting Penelope's legs fall away from him. Keeping both hands on her waist, he slipped from the grasp of her body only to lean one shoulder against the wall beside her.

Penelope rolled her head to the side to look up at the man that just made her knees liquid and had a thought drift through her mind, "Good that the wall was metal."

Jethro grins at the words. He quickly removes the condom and disposes of it, finishing the removal of his sweatpants in the process. Crouching down, he takes one of the damp towels at their feet and with a little bottle water, comes back to clean her and him both. Throwing the towel and the rest of their items towards their bags, he takes Penelope's hand and leads her to the bed. Pulling back the covers, he removes her shirt, slowly unbuttoning it and tossing it over to their bags as well. As she crawls in, he moves in behind her, spooning up against her.

"Let's get some rest, Red." Covering them both up, Jethro cuddles her close, breathing in deep as his eyes fall heavily shut. Hearing an agreeing murmur from Penelope, he relaxes as he drifts to sleep.

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Penelope drowsed, comforted by the person curled to her back. Turning over to face him, she smiled as he rolled to his back and the covers drew down around his waist. She propped herself up on one arm as she watched him sleep. She liked seeing him this way. First time ever that she's seen him without worries and thoughts weighing him down.

Thoughts drifted away as she watched his chest rise and fall with each breath. Her eyes admired the broad shoulders, the hair roughened skin that covered his chest, and her eyes followed that thinning line of hair as it trailed lower. As she sat up, Penelope moved the covers lower. Using absolutely no stealth, she shifted in bed so that her knees and ankles were curled up behind her. After quite a few times in the past trying to sneak off the couch and inadvertently waking up Jethro; she had learned that if she just got up without any attempt at sneaking, Jethro would sleep through it. She remembered one night, after they had shared a case a beer, she had once almost kneed him in her attempt to get up and get to the bathroom after they had fallen asleep on the couch. Jethro had only grumbled, moved a hand in his sleep to help steady her and fallen back to sleep. Now, all she could think of was how close she had come to damaging a highly excellent example of the male form.

Jethro came awake to fingertips massaging circles on his hipbones and lips that were pressing kisses to his chest and moving lower. "Thought we were resting, Red."

"Was resting. I'm completely rested." Penelope pressed kisses in between her words, pausing to lick the outer edge of his belly button before biting the rim of it. From the results, he seemed to like that. And she continued kissing, alternating soft bites.

"Penelope."

"Shush. Keep resting." Her hands continue their path lower. One hand coming down to cup him and roll across and over his sack while the other one strokes down his cock and back up, dragging her thumb nail in a soft pressure on the underside as she does so.

"_Jesus!_" Jethro's hand clenched in the covers in his attempt not to arch out of her grip.

"Relax, Jethro." Penelope uses her knuckles to lift and caress him while she continues stroking her fingers his shaft.

"Not possible." Jethro's voice comes out roughly at her agonizingly delightful assault.

"Well, then, since you're already awake." And that's the only warning he's given before Penelope's mouth swallows over him and he huffs out a surprised laugh that falters off into a hard groan as she slides lower.

And Penelope is holding him in her mouth, rubbing her tongue around him as she pulls back, only to swallow him again, deeper, pulling another deep groan from him. Jethro's arms come up to press against the metal wall that their bed is against, trying to push his hips back down into the bed and keep from thrusting into Penelope's throat. But, she ruins that when she pulls away, looking him in the eye before she licks up the center of her palm. Wrapping her hand around the base of his cock, she swallows him again as far as she can and begins to set up a steady rhythm. Jethro's back arches causing her to rock up with him as she refuses to abate her motions.

Penelope moved to her knees as she hovered over Jethro, loving the feeling of him sliding over her lips, stretching them to contain him, pressing deeper till she can feel him against the flutter at the back of her throat and her lips touch her own hand where she has her fingers around him. Heat turns her insides to liquid, the sounds Jethro is making having a reciprocal effect on her system. Blazing lava seems to be roiling through her veins and she began rocking on her own as wetness pooled between her thighs.

Taking her free hand from where it had been braced on his hip, she spread her knees wider. Stroking her fingers through her own wetness, she hummed with pleasure.

Jethro bucks with the sensation, rolling his hips into her motions. Forcing his eyes open, he looks down to where Penelope's hair is swaying in soft caresses over his thighs, adding to the tumult of sensations that is overwhelming him. Her lips have grown swollen with the friction of his shaft moving along them and every time she moves upon him, he catches the shine of spit coating his length. And, dammit, he can smell her arousal and everything is driving him beyond control.

Moving restlessly with want, he sees her other hand moving between her thighs. Without thinking, he reaches out and takes her arm, pulling it free from its relentless movement. Feeling her whine around him, he looks down as he brings her fingers to his mouth, not stopping the undulation of his hips. Taking each finger, he licks over and around before sucking it into his hot mouth, moving from one to the next before pulling the last one free.

"Mine, Penelope." Bringing his other hand down to touch her face, he pushes her hair back from her face before caressing along her jaw. "To touch." Biting the tip of her finger, his voice goes hoarse and loud, "Mine to taste." And it's too much. He arches into her, abandoning himself to the pull of her lips, a final brief shout echoing throughout the room as he came, hot across her tongue.

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Moments later, after falling to the side and resting her head on Jethro's thigh, Penelope felt Jethro's hands catch her under her arms. With a squeal, she found herself tumbled about and pressed into the bed sheets. Looking up, she found his quiet blue eyes focused on her. His lopsided smile was one that made her heart race.

"Relax?" Jethro drug his fingers down her side, digging them into a ticklish spot he remembered from years ago.

"Jethro!" Giggles were present as she rolled around, trying to escape.

"Did you say relax, Red?"

"I give, I give. Forget I said it!" Penelope's voice came out strained with laughter.

One hand weaving into her hair, Jethro drew closer. Lips met again and tongues clashed. Penelope pressed her body to his hard form and moaned.

Resting his head against her breast for a brief moment, Jethro looked at her for a serious moment, "Just don't forget what I said, Red."

Licking a path from her collar bone down, he sucked one pointed nipple between his lips. Roughening it with his tongue till she was twisting beneath him before moving to the other one, he pulled back once they both were swollen and hard with blood. "Mine to touch." Continuing down her belly, he kicked the covers the rest of the way to the foot of the bed and settled between her legs. Drawing one leg over his shoulder, he scraped morning stubble rough cheeks across delicate white thighs before producing that lop-sided smile valued so much. But the words he spoke next, the words he spoke made her breathless, "Mine. To taste.

" Pressing a kiss to her mound, Jethro licked a stripe through her center, causing her breath to stutter.

Pressing back, he gentled his touch only briefly. Spreading her open with his thumbs, he flicked his tongue through her wet curls, repeatedly till Penelope was keening with need. Needing more. With determination, Jethro settled his mouth firmly, lifting her bundle of nerves with his tongue and sucking it gently between his lips. Penelope shuddered as he traced her folds, searching and tasting every part of her till she was rocking against him. With passion now, he settled in earnest to strong movements of his tongue, licking inside her to the echoes of her gasps in the compartment. Pressing one finger, and then two up inside her, he moved to suction and rub her clit with his rough tongue. Penelope wrenched with desire beneath him, crying out with need. Angling his fingers inside her, he twisted his hand till she cried out as he probed against a spongy area inside her channel. With harsh movements, he stroked in and out of her, making sure to push across that area with each motion till Penelope was twisting upon the bed.

When he added his tongue into the motion, pressing and rubbing over her clit, she arched from the bed with a gasping cry before falling back and curling up towards him to as she clutched his head to her, shuddering as she exploded under his tongue.

Relaxing bonelessly to the bed, Penelope could still feel ripples of current causing her fingers to twitch where they lay on Jethro's shoulders. Her nails had made indentions in there and she rubbed at them, as if to soothe.

Minutes later, as she slowly regained her breath, Penelope glanced over the clock. Unable to muster true concern, she asked on a slow exhale, "Weren't you supposed to accept an award today?"

From where he reclined still between her legs, Jethro's chuckle caused his lips to move upon her thigh. "They'll do without me." Surging upward, he reached for the box of condoms Penelope had retrieved from her bag sometimes during the night. Sliding one on, he moved between her thighs and leaned forward to power into her wet heat.

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On the deck of the ship, Spencer Reid leaned across to whisper to Abby, "Where's Agent Gibbs?"

"Oh, he never comes to these things." Abby smiled at him.

"Then why does your team always come?" Confusion rang in Spencer's voice.

Director Vance's voice came to the end of his speech. Reaching for the award, he called the name of the man who had received it. "We would like to show our respect for an excellent agent and an extraordinary man. Leroy-" _(from below decks, one aching fulfilled word could be heard in the hallway from behind a metal door, "__**Jethro!**__") _ "-Gibbs."

"Respect, Dr. Reid. To show respect." Abby and the rest of her team stood up clapping. Following behind them, Reid, JJ, and Hotch did also. From off to the corner of the stage, David Rossi stood also, though, with one arm in a sling, he wasn't able to applaud as the others were doing. The rest of the deck soon followed as Anthony Dinozzo straightened his tie and stepped forward to accept the award in his boss' absence, just like he had for every other award Gibbs had received that was even now sitting in the locked drawer of Tony's desk.

As the NCIS team and the BAU team knew, you didn't do the job they did for an award. You did it for the families.

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A/N: So, I got sappy and sweet with the very last part of this chapter. But, it felt right. And the story is at an end.

I hope you have enjoyed our little collaboration between NCIS and the BAU family of Criminal Minds. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it.

Hope you continue to enjoy the stories! KK


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